A Certain Scientific Statistic
by KentaTC
Summary: Partly scientific excursion and mostly straight fiction, A Certain Scientific Statistic revolves around the always-exciting lives of Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko. This fun romcom romp deals with everything from dangerously high-voltage hugs to the consequences of being two powerful Espers in a city full of opportunistic scientists and down-and-dirty street thugs. Pairings Inside
1. Chapter 0: Timeline

A/N: As promised, parings are Misaka x Kuroko, with a little Saten x Uiharu along the way.

Before I start this story I'm going to bombard the hapless reader with not one, but _two_ Author's Notes. Both of them are entirely optional and will simply provide you with the background I'll be using throughout the story. If you only read one, read this one.

To those of you who haven't seen or read anything about the Index universe: The following will be completely meaningless and you're going to be entirely lost. This is fanfiction, meaning I've been stripped of the duty of detailing how the world works. I'm using someone else's universe and that someone explains it way better than I ever could. Have fun and go watch the anime or read the manga/novels, it definitely won't be a waste of time :)

When an author makes a fanfic about main characters from an ongoing and highly intricate plot such as can be found in Index, it's impossible for the author to assume what the readers have seen. For example, I've only seen Railgun S1 and part of S2. I was forced to use the wiki in order to fill-in the blanks, so to speak. There are likely readers out there who've seen Index S1 and S2, but none of Railgun. Thus those readers will have a different view of the Index universe than I have.

There might even be at least one poor reader who hasn't seen/read a single episode/chapter. The point is I don't know what the reader has seen, but in order for me to write a fanfic without reintroducing every concept from the original work I have to assume the reader has seen a few things even if they haven't.

I'm going to assume that the reader has at least a basic knowledge of the Index setting, namely Academy City, as well as the magical system of the universe. As to exactly when this fic takes place, I've decided to start it on September 15th. If you're not a complete nerd/prodigy-who-has-memorized-the-timeline, then this means nothing to you. As such I'll list out the arcs that I'll be taking into consideration. Needless to say, **SPOILERS** might be present in their names. **SPOILERS** definitely exist in the following paragraphs, but they only spoil one movie.

Level Upper*  
Index  
Big Spider*  
Poltergeist*  
Deep Blood  
Sisters*  
Angel Fall  
Three Stories  
Kazakiri Hyouka  
Orsalas Aquinas Rescue  
Ensemble  
Endymion*  
Tree Diagram Remnant

These are all the arcs that occurred before September 15th. Obviously they don't all affect Misaka and Kuroko around whom the story will be taking place. I've starred the arcs that will most heavily influence the story. If you're curious, yes they are all arcs from Railgun (save Endymion)

Special note on Endymion: I_ like_ space-elevators. I'm not very fond of how they just magic'ed this particular elevator away with even less explanation than they usually give to magical phenomena. Therefore the space-elevator is still sitting quite soundly in Academy City, presumably saved by the actions of Touma et al. and not ghosted away by a 'miracle' after the fact. At the moment I don't plan on doing anything with it and I don't see anything I could do with it, but it's there.

**Important Note:** While I have listed a number of arcs and said they will be influencing the story, even a reader with just background information on the characters will likely be able to scrape by without a problem. At most some of the characters might idly reference a past event or kick A Certain Vending Machine. So if you think 'man, I don't want to spend hours figuring out what happened in all those arcs' then you're in luck. You don't need to.


	2. Chapter 0: Science & Setting

A/N: This Author's Note will be going over the science I'll be using in this story. It's no secret that a lot of the science in Index is improbable at best. I won't pretend my story is entirely realistic, but as an engineer and having studied physics rather intensively, I think I can safely say that my presentation is about as air-tight as you're likely to find in a fanfic.

To anyone looking at this wall of text and feeling intimidated or annoyed, know that what I'm going over is entirely for the benefit of the curious. If you don't want to read this, it won't hurt your enjoyment of the fanfic I've written... probably. There aren't any huge revelations or anything, I'm just describing the physical laws of the world and how I interpret them.

I'll say that again in bold face:

**You Do Not Need To Read This A/N To Enjoy My Story. You Might Like It Though, Since It Describes How I Will Be Treating The Index Universe.**

Moving on, I have to use what I've been given. I won't retcon anything from the anime just because it is completely false. However, this being a fanfic about Misaka and Kuroko, I will now disgorge a bit of electromagnetism and teleportation knowledge on the poor reader.

* * *

First with Kuroko: Not much is known about teleportation, so I'll be using what Kazuma Kamachi - the author of Index - wrote when it comes to explaining Kuroko's power. Kuroko has access to a means of traveling to 11th dimensional space. It'd be like a stick guy on a piece of paper going from the 2D world to the 3D, where he can hop over any 2D barriers and then float back into the paper. Kuroko's quite similar except she is going up a lot further than one dimension. If all dimensions were created equal, that would be pointless since going to even just 4D would allow Kuroko to phase through just about anything. At this point all I can say is that Kazuma's take on dimensions is such that anyone going up to 11D space can float back into any point in 3D space nigh-instantaneously. In other words, a single point in 11D space is simultaneously close to many different points in 3D space. It'd be like always having access to a room full of doors to every country on Earth.

What that means is when Kuroko wants to go somewhere she thinks of where she is, does some serious math to orient herself in 11D space, then plots a quick trip to her destination. If something's in the way she shoves it out of the way, much like the paper stick man might push a square off the piece of paper where (since the square can't control itself in 3D space) it sits in what it perceives to be a void.

Obviously this is a very useful power. However, it still cannot defeat someone like Accelerator very easily as even 11D objects have velocities given by vectors. Thus his Reflector would just turn Kuroko's darts around on the spot. Given how difficult teleportation has been made out to be, I imagine this could trap Kuroko's darts in 11D space as surely as the square was trapped in 3D space.

For the sake of this fanfic I'll be treating her power as teleportation via displacement. She pushes things off our 3D world and falls into the vacuum at the same time. Still, Kuroko and her weapons are subject to the same laws of reality as anything else. If, for instance, she were to try and land a dart inside Misaka for whatever reason and if Misaka were to charge both herself and the dart with the same charge, I imagine the dart would be repelled once it arrived in 11D space (which is close to everything, including Misaka) and likely lost forever.[1] If - in the course of this fanfic - Kuroko ever decides to pin Misaka down, the reader might be glad to note that Kuroko will use a non-magnetic dart for the task. It can still be given charge, contrary to popular belief, but it's a lot harder.

* * *

Misaka's power is based on phenomena that have been much more widely studied. Basically, she has control over the charge of nearby objects. That means she can produce a positive charge on one hand, a negative charge on the other, bring them close to each other, and watch a fun display of ionization at work.

However, it's much more difficult for Misaka to 'throw' lightning at a target. If she were in an alleyway surrounded by thugs it'd be simple enough to just charge herself up and let the electricity flow all around her, incapacitating the thugs in the process. Yet it's absolutely impossible for her to shoot electricity at a man 40 feet away using the same tactic. This is due to the charge always taking the course of least resistance. Instead of flying through 40 feet of air, a terrible conductor, the electric charge she's built up in her will travel through her various appendages to nearby metal objects without harming the man in the slightest.

Thus in order to shoot electricity she has to produce a charge on her body while ionizing the air between herself and the target to give the electricity a clean path. This all occurs nearly instantly as otherwise things would happen that don't happen in the anime (I am a master of hand waving, as you'll soon find.).

Now, on Misaka's control of Magnetism. The reason we call this particular field of study 'Electromagnetism' is because the two are more closely related than identical twins. To control one is to control the other. A brief description of magnetism is that it is produced by a moving current, AKA: Electricity. If Misaka wants to make a magnet, she can just produce a loop of electricity and now she has a magnet. For this reason I'll be treating Misaka as an Electro-psycher entirely. She cannot just summon a magnetic field, but instead must make an electric current to do the job. The reason why I will be taking this approach is due to Misaka's eponymous ability, the 'Railgun.'

Surprising though it may be, a railgun is one of the simplest weapons imaginable and the reason we don't use railguns instead of normal firearms is more due to a problem with materials than the concept behind the weapon. Simply put, a railgun operates by producing an electric current, which in turn produces a magnetic field, which in turn pushes the (magnetic) projectile out the end of the barrel.[2] Tying back to my previous paragraph, if Misaka could produce magnetic fields then she could just skip the electric part and fling coins left and right without sparks flying from her hair.[3] However, for the sake of narration I will occasionally write that Misaka uses magnetism to do something. Know that she's really manipulating electricity in order to produce a magnetic field. I didn't think you'd want to read "-and so she used an electric current to produce a magnetic field to-" all the time.

Some readers of the manga have pointed out that a coin traveling at Mach 3 produces a lot of sound, heat, and recoil (We're doing Mach 8 now so multiply all of that by a really big number). They're totally correct and by all rights Misaka should be deaf, burnt, and missing an arm. However, I imagine Misaka thought this through (she _is_ a prodigy after all) and controls the recoil using a magnetic field that braces herself against her surroundings. When it comes to the sound, I'm willing to believe that Misaka could counteract the noises produced by the railgun by vibrating the air around her via magnetism.[4] Then, like a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, she could completely mute the weapon. Also like a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, she's not perfect so it'd still make some noise (though not enough to be deafening). As for the heat, there's actually not much heat produced. In a real railgun there is a lot of friction between the rails and the slug, but Misaka doesn't use physical rails. Her railgun is frictionless and has perfect ventilation.

Misaka has another technique - showcased in the Railgun spin-off a number of times - and that is the ability to use magnetic fields to manipulate the metallic sand which exists in some quantity all around us. For the most part, this is a valid technique. As the powerful magnetic fields produced would fry any normal electronic device within a considerable area, Misaka must take care both where she uses this power and what she has on her. I imagine her cellphone is hardened against such fields, though it would not get a signal in the middle of combat. Other electronics such as nearby lighting would not be as fortunate and would be destroyed.[5]

Lastly I'm going to describe something that is a little more advanced and was never covered in the anime, or as far as I know, the manga/books. That is Misaka's control over light. Believe it or not, light is an electric field and a magnetic field sitting on top of each other going in one direction.[6] That being said, if one were to have control over electricity, and by extension magnetism, one could produce and control light. If after reading this huge wall of text you still decide to read my fanfic, you'll find that I'll be giving Misaka a bit of... _inspiration_, when it comes to her as-of-yet unknown talent for producing and manipulating light.

* * *

After reading my description of Kuroko and Misaka's powers, those Kuroko fans out there might be a little nervous that I'll be paying most of my attention to Misaka. Well, you're somewhat right as I will be paying a _little bit_ more attention to Misaka. Misaka is the _main_ main character of this story after all, but Kuroko's no small fry and teleportation's a powerful and versatile tool. She'll certainly get a lot of plot love as well, worry not.

To those of you who read that whole wall of text. I applaud you. God knows I sure as heck wouldn't read it, and I wrote it! (That's a joke. I find this stuff very interesting.) Anyway, **the next chapter will be the actual start of my story about Kuroko and Misaka! (Due September 15)**

* * *

[1] If you happen to know about vectors and physics, you might realize that the groundwork for magnetism is set up for a 3D world only. That means as far as we know our magnets don't affect extra dimensions. It's a valid point. However, there might not be any more spatial dimensions. So even if our magnets did work in 11D, they wouldn't look like it. Therefore I'm making the executive decision that yes, magnets repel things in all 11 D's. Get out your glasses. It's gonna be intense.

[2] Fun Fact, if Misaka flipped the current going through her railgun, the coin would go backwards and she'd shoot herself very dead. For a detailed description of railguns I'd recommend going to the Wikipedia article on them. It's a very good introduction to the concept behind the weapons.

[3] All that static electricity would likely ruin Misaka's hair whenever she started _thinking_ of controlling electricity. I'm ignoring that. Misaka either takes her hair into constant consideration or her hair is special. Reader's pick.

[4] If you're thinking, 'No way sir, air doesn't have a charge and so cannot be controlled by magnetism' you'd be halfway right. Air doesn't have a _net-charge_, but due to how atoms and molecules are layed out, they do have charge from one side to another. It's complicated and I don't think I'm a good enough teacher to explain how this could be utilized in order to make sound, but it can theoretically be done.

[5] Credit to TPKTheStoicTPK for finding this solution! The hardening in question is done by surrounding the cellphone in a Faraday Cage. The concept behind the cage is really neat! Wikipedia it for more information.

[6] Fun Fact, light operates on a similar principle as the railgun. In essence it's like a self-propelled railgun slug. You should study it. Light's really cool.


	3. Chapter 1: A Certain Story's Beginning

A/N: To get you guys into the spirit of the story, I've posted the first chapter on September 15th, the same day this story starts. No, I will not be able to post quickly enough to keep this story in real-time. Still, it's the thought that counts. Right?

I got a bunch of reviews on the A/N's I posted. That surprised the heck out of me to be honest. They're A/N's and I got reviews on them! Thanks so much to those of you who reviewed. I've read your comments and tried to answer any questions you had so take a look down there if you reviewed!

Quick Note: Misaka's Railgun now travels at a speed of at least 2800 m/s, or Mach 8. Read the replies to find out why! (You'll find I edited previous chapters to reflect this change. That's right, I'm pulling some real crazy 1984 stuff here.)

* * *

The room was dimly lit by the nebulous light emanating from row upon row of pods. A few men and women stopped at the pods seemingly at random to check numbers and symbols which had little meaning to anyone save the few directly involved in the project. Florescent lights which usually cast their cold rays upon the dark room were deactivated in order to lull its occupants to sleep. Indeed, a number of the specimens situated in the various pods were already breathing to the steady beat of unconsciousness.

One woman stood in the middle of it all, taking in the happenings as if she were at rest in a particularly luxurious hot-spring.

"Ma'am" someone approached. A middle-aged man with brown hair turned gray too quickly. "A number of the patients are exhibiting signs of incompatibility with the procedure. I recommend we pause all operations and re-"

"Unless the next words out of your mouth are 'and I'll fund this project entirely out of my own pocket,' then you would be wise to keep your mouth closed. Both I and the School want to see results. In the absence of results this project will be forcibly terminated." The woman said for what seemed like the hundredth time. She did not much like the little runt of a man standing before her. However, he was talented. For that reason she tolerated his occasional acts of near-insubordination.

"I really think we should stop, or at least slow down." The man recognized the futility of his words, but felt he must continue. Already he could feel her gaze changing from one of annoyance to one of malevolence.

"Stop? We can't stop. We've only just begun."

* * *

Sunlight filtered in from above through wind-blown leaves casting a perpetually changing pattern on the group of four young girls sitting at a round table by the roadside. A shiver went up the spine of one of the girls, followed closely behind by an almost imperceptible arc of electricity.

"It's getting cold." She chattered, wrapping her arms about herself to preserve what little heat she could. Another of the girls - adorned with two pigtails tied up in an effort to keep her hair from her eyes - grinned maliciously at the comment.

"If you insist Onee-sama, Kuroko would be more than happy to keep you warm." She said, ulterior motives dripping from her words like thick syrup. Her target glared daggers at her, electric arcs flying between her spaced fingers.

"I'm plenty warm by myself. Even if I weren't, I wouldn't want a pervert like you 'keeping me warm.'" The girl replied, letting her arms drop back to the table as if to convince her friend that yes, as a matter of fact, she was completely warm. It was at that moment that a second gust blew through the street, compelling the girl to visibly shudder against its icy touch.

"See!" The one named Kuroko took this as a sign that her invitation to warm her beloved Onee-sama had arrived and jumped out of her seat toward her target. It was a testament to her victim's growing reflexes that she managed to halt Kuroko in her tracks, one arm outstretched with a grip on Kuroko's face that both kept her at bay and provided the girl with an excellent hold to shock her with.

With the faint smell of ozone tinging the - now warmer - air, Misaka let Kuroko drop seizingly to the ground, where she proceeded to pick herself up and take her seat with a huff.

"You didn't need to be so quick to shock me when I was just trying to show you my love." Kuroko griped. With a bewilderingly quick change of mood, and as if suddenly remembering there was a cake in front of her, Kuroko zealously dived into the unsuspecting pastry.

The four were quiet for a time, not at all disturbed by the sudden display of electricity that would so shock any other group of friends. Surprisingly, even passersby didn't seem to mind the commotion. It was almost as if they recognized Misaka as the extremely dangerous and marginally unstable Level 5 she was sometimes made out to be.

"Hey, look at this." One of the other two said, breaking the silence. She held up her phone so the others could read it. "They're doing construction by the bridge next to that pastry shop with the chocolate souffl_é_s. It looks like they're going to put in a draw bridge so barges can get through." Her comment was met with uncomprehending stares.

"That's not uncommon Saten-san. The city's been using the waterways for transportation since it was founded." The fourth girl, wearing a flowery headband whose existence she seemingly refused to acknowledge, pointed out informatively. Kuroko and Misaka nodded in agreement.

"Maybe, but they'll be closing all of the local businesses while construction is going on. Which means-" A sudden look of understanding spread between the four.

"We won't be able to eat chocolate souffl_é_s." The flowery girl, Uiharu, almost whispered. Such a tone was usually reserved for speaking of tragic accidents and the results of exams but was entirely at home in the conversation at hand. A moment of silence followed her comment as the four silently commiserated with one another at the passing of one of their favorite pastry shops.

"Why would they close all the shops just to build a bridge?" Misaka asked, perplexed at the severity of the construction ordinances. Kuroko and Uiharu nodded in shared curiosity.

"It says here that they need to put in a whole bunch of infrastructure since it's pretty long for a drawbridge." Saten read from her phone. She looked up and flinched from the stares of her comrades. "Hey! It's not like I want the shop to shut down any more than you do!" She exclaimed, bringing her hands up to ward off the incoming glares.

Eventually the three attackers relented, Saten's logic being found valid enough and her innocence reinstated. However, with no further questions about the bridge and little in the way of solutions to the cake-shop problem the four were forced to move on to another topic.

"I guess we'll have to choose a different spot for our study-group tomorrow." Kuroko noted absently, still depressed with the temporary closure of the shop. She had formulated a masterful plan involving a pastry, her Onee-sama, and an indirect kiss. Her plan now ruined as if by fate, Kuroko turned her mind to finding new ways to get closer to Misaka.

"We could always have another hot pot in Uiharu's room." Saten suggested, referencing the particularly scrumptious dinner the four had eaten not so long ago.

"It _was_ pretty good," Misaka agreed. "But..."

"We can't get the paperwork finished in time." Kuroko finished. Misaka nodded in agreement before taking a sip of her tea. The warmth it provided fortified her against the cold. The four were silent again for a while after that.

Misaka smiled to herself, glad that she could worry over something as inconsequential as where to meet up. She had spent so long worrying about problems that could mean life or death for her and her friends. Then there was the matter of her ten thousand sisters. Kuroko had probably noticed already that Misaka was tackling her studies with renewed vigor. She needed to be strong enough to keep her sisters safe.

Misaka's thoughts turned to Accelerator and to the defeat he handed her with all the seriousness of a comedian. Then there was Touma. He single-handedly defeated Accelerator, literally. She still couldn't wrap her head around it. Her mind was not allowed to wander for long before she was snapped out of it by a certain insistent teleporter.

"Onee-sama, I can only assume that by continuing to ignore me you secretly wish me to touch you and so break your rever-"

"Don't even try it." Misaka warned, coming back to the present. Saten and Uiharu grinned at each other in a way Misaka could only describe as 'conspiratorial.' Still, they wouldn't do anything drastic out in publi-

"Thinking about your boyfriend?" Saten asked jeeringly. Misaka almost choked on the tea she was drinking in her attempt to deny it.

"B-b-boyfriend? I don-"

"Onee-sama would n-never-" Misaka and Kuroko replied at once. Misaka's face was flushed, betraying the partial lie.

"Oh?" Saten teased, enjoying the flustered looks of her two friends.

"Saten-san!" Uiharu began to protest, thinking the joke had gone on long enough.

"Okay okay! It was a joke!" Saten insisted, her face a mixture of false-sympathy and amusement. Misaka merely crossed her arms and looked to the side, as if doing so would somehow restore what little dignity she had left. As she did, Misaka watched a pair of cleaning robots sweep down the opposite sidewalk, sucking up any debris in their path. Kuroko interrupted her examination of the dutiful robots.

"Uiharu, we should make our way over to Judgement." Kuroko said having recovered her rich-girl air of elegance. Uiharu nearly jumped in surprise, spilling her shake in the process.

"Ah, eh eeeh?" Uiharu clumsily tried to clean up the mess while simultaneously trying to keep her uniform clean. Misaka and the others had to force themselves not to laugh.

"Don't worry about it." Saten said, taking the napkins from Uiharu. "I'll handle this, so you should get going." Uiharu began to protest but a shove from Saten convinced her not to.

"T-Thanks Saten-san!" Uiharu called, following Kuroko down the street toward Judgement Office #177. Misaka watched as the two turned a corner before grabbing a few napkins to help clean up the mess.

"You two get along pretty well." Misaka noted, tossing the soiled napkins into a trash receptacle. Her hands were cold and the frosty remains of the shake made them even colder. Misaka attempted to warm them up with her breath, taking in the pleasant strawberry aroma they had acquired.

"We're friends after all." Saten replied, as if that was justification enough. Misaka sighed. She and Kuroko might get along that well if Kuroko didn't insist on being such a pervert all the time, or so Misaka convinced herself. Sensing her friend's frustration, Saten paused in her cleaning and looked up at Misaka. "Kuroko's a hand-full isn't she?"

"You don't know the half of it." Misaka replied. "If she weren't so... Kuroko-ish, then it'd be easier to deal with her."

"I don't think that'll change anytime soon." Saten half-chuckled, cleaning up the last smudges left. Misaka didn't have a reply to that. Between Kuroko and Touma she was surrounded by more than her fair share of insensitivity. Misaka paused, unsure of why she had included Touma in that list. Shrugging it off she nodded in reluctant agreement.

"She's kind of amazing though." Misaka whispered. Realizing what she had just said, the electromaster covered her mouth. Surprisingly, Saten didn't make fun of her for it.

"Yea, she really is." The two of them stood in shared silence for a moment. One a little frustrated that she had said something so embarrassing and the other confused as to what brought it on, but happy that her friend was beginning to realize how hard Kuroko worked for her sake.

"I should get going." Saten broke the silence. "I want to review some homework for an upcoming test."

"I should get back to the dorm too. If I miss curfew I might not survive." Misaka replied. She also wanted to get out of the cold, though there was no way she'd admit something as petty as the cold could affect her.

"Curfew's not for hours."

"I'm going to stop by the convenience store on my way back and check the new releases." Misaka explained, though she had no such intentions. Saten grinned anyway and hefted her bag.

"Later then"

"Later"

Misaka made her way towards the dorms, her pace quickened by the unseasonal chill. A small part of her wondered whether she could use electricity to warm herself up but that idea was quickly stamped out. More likely then not she'd end up with electricity burns and a heart-attack.

It wasn't until she had gone through the third alleyway-shortcut that a group of a half-dozen men approached her. Misaka groaned inwardly. The day wasn't complete without a bunch of losers trying to hit on her. One of them, the leader Misaka presumed, held up a hand. The group shuffled to a stop.

"Hello," he greeted. Misaka was put off-guard by his unusual formality. Not sure whether this group was actually a bunch of decent people or the ruffians they appeared to be, Misaka decided to return his formality.

"Hello," She pushed her senses outward, examining her surroundings through the mind's eye of a Level 5 electromaster. There was little in the way of cover in the small courtyard this particular alleyway had opened into. Not that _she_ needed cover, but it would be annoying if her potential opponents had it.

Grey was the color of the day it seemed. With clouds overhead and nothing but concrete or unpainted steel metalwork to look at Misaka couldn't help but feel a little dreary as she waited for the gang to attack.

"You want to come with us? We're heading over to the arcade." The leader offered, his lie betrayed by the leering looks of his companions. Misaka had stopped listening after his first sentence, though the man didn't seem to notice. One of his _associates_, for lack of a better term, whispered something into his ear and he fell silent.

"I'm heading back to my dorm. I don't have time to go anywhere." Misaka replied reasonably. She knew Kuroko wouldn't take kindly to her frying another group of jerks. She could almost hear Kuroko reprimanding her, reminding her once again that it was Judgement's duty to take care of such cases. Misaka grimaced, deciding that maybe just once it would be okay to let these guys go.

"It's too early in the day for that. Come with us for a little bit." Their leader clearly wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

Misaka had mapped the surrounding area within seconds of their encounter and so knew the metal reinforcement in the walls next to her didn't have any wiring, meaning she didn't have to concentrate on protecting them. Misaka propelled herself upwards using the rods buried beneath the walls for magnetic leverage.

A gout of fire leapt up toward her, nearly taking Misaka by surprise. She reversed her course just quickly enough to avoid the brunt of it, letting her static shield ward off the rest of the hot ions.

"You really don't want to pick a fight with me." Misaka warned, throwing off an intimidating amount of electricity in the hopes that her display of force would scare the group away. It seemed fate had different plans for her, as the gang stood their ground. Misaka frowned, the one time she decided to play things by Kuroko's book and she gets a group of guys that make it impossible for her to do so.

Misaka dropped to the ground as another burst of flame raced toward her. Once more a combination of her sudden movement and her static shield protected her from the flames. Wasting little time, Misaka launched a bolt of electricity toward the six thugs.

Her work done, Misaka let up on the electricity and began t-

All six of the thugs remained standing, unharmed. The leader had his arm outstretched and for a moment Misaka's heart dropped. If that man had the same power as a certain spiky haired idiot, Misaka could be in real trouble.

"Surprised?" The man asked. "We call it _science_." His friends laughed at that. Misaka was perplexed. How was a power that seemed to block everything from electricity to explosions scientific at all? "All I need to do is wear this and all the electricity you shoot my way will be harmlessly sent to the ground." He lifted his arm enough for Misaka to see an insulated wire strapped to his wrist. Misaka was both relieved that there wasn't another mystery-handed weirdo out there and frustrated that she hadn't thought to check the group for any tricks or weapons.

"Oh, you had me worried for a moment." Misaka commented, a smile returning to her face. "I thought you actually had power." She didn't let them about that for very long. Using the piping on either side of the gang like a pair of giant electrodes Misaka coerced a considerable amount electricity to assault her enemy from the sides, entirely mitigating the resistance their wrist-wires provided.

However as she watched the two men nearest the walls merely stood as arcs rippled from the tubing to their backs. In a normal person that amount of electricity was enough to cause massive seizures yet there they stood, stoic stone statues.

"You didn't think we only wore the wire on our arms did you?" The man asked incredulously, as if she were an idiot. "We're wearing a full suit beneath our jackets. Your electric attacks won't do any good against us!" Realization dawned on Misaka and she let out a laugh, visibly unnerving the leader.

"It's funny how the bad guy always tells me his tricks. I'll return the favor, electric attacks aren't the only thing up my sleeve." Misaka replied. With the snap of her fingers the six men were pressed against the alley walls. "Thanks for providing the perfect leverage for a magnetic attack." She said with a grin, pausing in front of the leader. Focused as they were on trying to breath under the constricting force Misaka was applying to their wire-suits, the thugs did nothing to prevent Misaka's inspection.

"Why are you wearing wire suits?" Misaka asked, examining the others. The pyrokinesist wasn't wearing a wire suit like his friends, instead opting for a different sort of undershirt replete with lighters and makeshift firebombs. He was lucky to have been protected from the electrodes by the guys who'd been nearest to the walls.

"To deal with girls like you." The leader replied haltingly, doing his best to spit on her. All he managed was to dribble all over his chin. Realizing she wouldn't get anything out of them and growing colder by the moment, Misaka continued on her way to the dorms.

After she had exited the alley and lost herself in the crowd of a main street, Misaka let up on the thugs. She could almost hear them drop to the ground heaving for breath.

With another bunch of losers dealt with (and without frying them, Misaka thought proudly to herself) the electromaster made her way back to the warmth of her dorm room.

* * *

Because what kind of intro would be complete without a fight scene? Anyway, I hope you guys give me some feedback right in the beginning so I know how to write the rest of this story. Think it has too much fighting? Too little? Was it too fast? Too slow? Don't like the alliteration? Let me know and I'll see what I can do! Anyway, **Next Chapter will be up on the 22nd!**

_On to the replies!_

**chanaweil:** While Kuroko's power of teleportation does _seem_ instantaneous, it is slightly delayed. If you fix the spaces and click on the following link you'll get a still from the anime wherein Kuroko is in the middle of teleporting, which shows that her teleportation takes place in a finite time-span.

nopybot wp-content / uploads / 2010/02 / kurokotele . jpg

Given the inability for things such as bullets to pierce Accelerator's Reflector I'm under the impression that his Reflector works instantaneously (the wiki confirms that even objects he's unaware of are redirected, like UV rays). If that weren't so then a bullet would slide through in the millisecond delay. In canon Accelerator's immunity to teleportation is demonstrated in the World War III arc.

On 11D vectors. Vectors themselves are very simple. A vector describing the velocity of an object in our world is a group of 3 numbers describing its motion on the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis. An 11D vector is the same thing only with 11 numbers describing its velocity in a world where you can go up and down, side-to-side, forward and back, and 8 other directions perpendicular to those 3. It hurts my head when I try to think of moving in 11 dimensions. I can kind-of/sort-of handle 4 on a _really good _day.

An example of a 3D vector: Imagine a ball flying through the air across a field. It's moving up at 1 m/s, to an observer's left at 2 m/s and away from the observer at .5 m/s. Assuming up is y, left is z, and away is x, a vector for that ball's velocity would be as follows: [x, y, z] or [0.5, 1, 2]

**Drachnon: **I'm really glad you said something about that because I totally missed it! I did a quick search and found Misaka's Railgun to have about twice the kinetic energy of a .308 bullet. That being said, I agree that there's an issue of scale here given how Misaka's Railgun could stop a car in its tracks. Furthermore, there's no way such a shot would melt the coin in fifty meters or throw an entire pool's worth of water a hundred meters into the air. Nice catch.

I'm doing a bit of retconning (I said I wouldn't, that was a lie) and changing the speed at which she fires the coin. From henceforth she fires the coin at 2800 m/s on low power. If you're curious, that's the same amount of kinetic energy as is in a 600kg car traveling at 50km/h :D

At this point in order to get any more energy out of her railgun she'd need to use a bigger projectile (the coin melts too quickly to get even 50m of range past Mach 8). Assuming she used a larger projectile, Misaka could definitely do the pool experiment depicted in the anime. As it stands the new recoil force is at 42Kg. Since it's an impulse, that's quite a lot. Therefore now that I've messed with the numbers Misaka really _does_ need to brace herself* :D Thanks for pointing this out! I'm glad we got this out of the way before the story really picked up or I would have missed it entirely!

When it comes to the field, I think the anime shows that Misaka can't control its size. This is exemplified when she causes a blackout during one of her fights, essentially frying important electrical infrastructure as a result. She'll just have to be careful :D

*About whether the field is braced against Misaka or is stationary; given the scene in the OVA where she flies Matrix hovercraft style I think the fields are braced against herself (or else she wouldn't have been moved by the fields). It's very likely she could brace them against her surroundings instead of herself if she thought about it, which is what I mean when I say she uses her power to reduce the recoil.

**Mastodonic:** Thanks for the info! I had already found Kuroko's max weight and distance, but the cruise speed was new to me and it's handy to know something such as that. On the matter of inertia. The real power behind Kuroko's teleport is that she travels slowly by her own frame of reference, but very quickly by a passing observer's. She might move through 11D space at a couple kph and still arrive a dozen meters away in an instant. Therefore she wouldn't have significant inertia but would still teleport as quickly as is depicted in the series. This comes from the fact that a single point in 11D space is close to many points in 3D space.

As for chrome, I think it's an attempt by the people at Google to dissuade you from researching teleportation. They plan on reserving _that_ piece of technology for themselves once they invent it!

**chaosrin****:** I read the debate you posted and I really learned a lot! It seems like there are a lot of different opinions on how exactly teleportation works. Since none of them contradict the framework I provided in the A/N's I'll keep treating teleportation as is written in CH 0. Do you know of any other places where I might get more information on Kuroko's teleport ability? Some of the people on that thread thought AIM fields messed with teleporting something into another Esper while others thought only Level 5 AIM fields were strong enough. I'm not really convinced that either notion is true so I was wondering if you knew of any canon or Word From God that supported or refuted the idea.

**anon****:** I'm glad you liked it. I'll try to explain things that aren't self-evident as they appear in the story. As it is I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


	4. Chapter 2: A Certain Dormitory

A/N: Keep the reviews coming! I'm getting loads of good ideas from you guys and I'm really pleased with the way things are turning out. Here's to hoping you guys like this chapter!

I didn't vet this one for mistakes as much as the last, so if there are a lot of errors I apologize. On that note if there's a beta-reader out there who likes reading this story and would kindly help me out with it, feel free to let me know and I'll shoot chapters over your way.

(As always, replies are at the bottom of the page. Be There! ~Yaaaay~)

* * *

To say Judgement work was tedious was an understatement. It would be akin to saying Academy City had more students than average, or that the sun was larger than a campfire. Most of the time working at Judgement was consumed with reporting to various authorities and writing out reports to give to those same authorities, which Kuroko suspected didn't read past the summary.

Then there was Kuroko's own little "bonus job," cleaning up after her Onee-sama's daily excursions into the shady ends of town. Even though she cherished Misaka dearly, Kuroko could no longer bring herself to worry about the girl and her antics. After being frightened and wracked with anxiety for two months in a row after Kuroko had learned about Misaka's trouble-streak, she had simply lost the ability to be frightened by her Onee-sama doing anything less than fighting a Saint.

The lights above her flickered as Kuroko leaned back against her chair. She idly wondered if it were Misaka's doing and mentally prepared herself for Uiharu's inevitable notification and the two hours paperwork it would entail.

"Um, Shirai-san?" Uiharu called from her nest of monitors.

"Where are they, how many are there, and how badly are they burnt?" Kuroko rattled off her questions like she had every day for the past week.

"Two block East, one North, in the alley by the green vending machine. There are six of them, and none of them are burnt." Uiharu failed to contain the wonder in her voice. Kuroko wasn't any better off, coughing up the drink she was consuming and falling over her chair in the process.

"What?" Was all Kuroko could manage after fighting off her drink-induced choking and the pain welling up on the back of her head.

"The cameras went down for the fight, but I managed to reboot them and it looks like all of the perpetrators are laying on the ground unconscious, but unharmed." Uiharu explained. Kuroko nodded, having recovered some semblance of dignity. Misaka must have restrained herself if Uiharu could reboot the cameras. Usually the things were fried, making Misaka a veritable patron-saint to camera manufacturers around the world. Kuroko shivered to think about how much money the companies made off all the replacement cameras Academy City was always installing.

"That makes things unexpectedly easy. We can get away with catching the criminals for attempted assault while explaining Onee-sama's actions as self-defence. It shouldn't take very long that way." Kuroko stated to no one in particular.

"Yes, but I don't know how long they'll stay unconscious. I think you should go-" Uiharu turned from her monitors only to find herself talking to nothing but air.

It took Kuroko less than thirty seconds to arrive at the scene of the crime. Some of the criminals were beginning to come to so Kuroko busied herself with clapping hand-cuffs around their wrists. It was then that she noticed the wire-suits they were wearing.

"Huh?" Kuroko checked each of them, finding four wire-suits, an outlandish outfit strapped head-to-toe with firebombs, and another she could not easily find the purpose for. It was the first time she had seen such protection and it unnerved her. Certainly their outfits did nothing to protect them from Misaka, but against a Level 3 electromaster - a common esper - they would make their wearers nigh-invulnerable.

"Uiharu," Kuroko called into her headset while she waited for Anti-Skill to arrive.

"Yes Shirai-san?" Uiharu responded, her voice mildly garbled by interference.

"These guys are outfitted with wire-suits which seem to protect them against moderate levels of electricity. Have any other branches reported seeing something similar?" Kuroko asked. She could hear the clatter of keys as Uiharu went about her search on the Judgement discussion boards.

"Yes, it looks like a few other branches started finding these wire-suits a few days ago, but they aren't appearing with very much frequency or in any particular area. The current opinion is that the suits are home-built since they aren't identical. I think they might be produced by a company though, since they are made with quality metals." Uiharu reported, her voice taking on the slightly low-pitched tone she wore whenever doing Judgement work.

Kuroko nodded to herself. "Uiharu, one of them has contraband firebombs on him. I'll take a few photos and send them your way. Maybe they are related to this incident." She said, crouching next to the man in question with her cell-phone in hand.

"I'll take a look." Uiharu replied.

It took Anti-Skill ten minutes to show up at the crime scene. They might have made it quicker had Kuroko not told them the situation was under control. Nevertheless she was forced to put up with groggy name-calling within just a couple minutes as the criminals awoke from their collective stupor.

After that, however, Kuroko was treated to the wonderful present of not having to do enough paperwork to bring her 'part-time' status into question. It was a welcome change of pace and afforded her the opportunity to spend alone time with her Onee-sama in a place where she would not be shocked to death and back for a harmless snuggle.

"Uiharu," Kuroko called between teleports. "I'm going to write up the report for this incident and then return to the dorms, unless there's something else we need to take care of?"

"I've already finished with the report so you can head home now. Thanks for the hard work!" Uiharu replied. Kuroko could hear the sound of her typing non-stop. Uiharu wasn't much of an esper, but she had focus to inspire awe even in a teleporter.

"Are you sur-"

"I'm sure! Besides, if you hurry you might even beat Misaka home." Uiharu argued adamantly. Clearly she wasn't going to budge on this one and Kuroko had to admit she didn't have the willpower necessary to resist even more Misaka time.

"Okay then, I'm off!" Kuroko removed the earpiece and changed her course for the Tokiwadai Dormitories. Her rush was not in vain, as she managed to arrive at the front gate with Misaka still a little ways off. At the quickest pace she could manage without being flayed alive by the Dorm Supervisor - Also known as Death Incarnate - Kuroko arrived at her and Misaka's love nest with time to spare.

Not much time, however, as the door behind her soon opened once more, revealing the most beautiful creature ever to have roamed the Earth.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko turned up to look at her idol slash roommate. Misaka stood in the doorway for a second, bracing herself for the invariable tackle. When the tackle was not forthcoming she lowered her arms to-

Kuroko's considerable speed carried the two through the doorway and into the opposing wall. If it weren't for her months of experience in dealing with Kuroko, Misaka very well might have broken something in the fall.

"Get off me Kuroko!" Misaka yelled, while at the same time trying vainly to detach herself from the smaller girl.

"I only wish to show you my unceasing love and devo-

"Cut it out already!" Misaka ordered, pushing Kuroko away by the face. Eventually she managed to untangle herself from the teleporter without resorting to terrifyingly large amounts of electricity, which was for the best given the Tokiwadai Supervisor's seemingly supernatural ability to know exactly when somebody used their power in the dormitory.

Kuroko sighed but did not latch herself onto her Onee-sama a second time.

"Onee-sama, aren't you glad to see me here so early? Kuroko worked very hard in order to get to the dorm first for once." She said, fishing for even the slightest of compliments. Instead, Misaka gave her a strange look.

"Nothing weird happened, right?" Misaka asked curiously, causing Kuroko to reasses the situation. Clearly Misaka was not her usual self, but compared to whatever gripped her during that incident with the freak plasma-storm she was practically the spitting-image of normality. Kuroko could only hope that Misaka wasn't fighting even stronger demons while she was once again kept in the dark.

"Now that you mention it, something strange did happen." Kuroko stated, her shoulder pointed towards Misaka in what could only be considered an attempt at being enigmatic.

"And that is..."

"We found a group of criminals wearing conducting suits, one of whom had a number of contraband firebombs on him. Apparently they attacked a Tokiwadai student with a stunning control over electricity who proceeded to defeat them _without_ frying them, contrary to that student's usual practice or so I've been told." Kuroko said. "You're usually very strict with these criminals and while I am grateful you didn't deal with them yourself (it saved me a lot of paperwork) I _am_ worried about you Onee-sama."

Misaka frowned and crossed her arms in her 'thinking pose' as Kuroko had come to know it. "I've told you not to worry about these thugs attacking me." Misaka said, though her heart wasn't in it. Kuroko didn't know if that was because Misaka was used to the younger girl being too arrogant to change her ways or if Misaka was busy thinking of something else.

"Not at all Onee-sama. It is well known that you can defeat an entire army of thugs while casting serious doubts on their parentage in the process. I would never think to be worried even if you pick fights with some low-life scum for no reason." _Not to mention you'd fry me if I even _looked_ worried._ Kuroko added silently to herself.

"What?" Misaka replied, aghast. "I do what?"

"Indeed, all it takes is a single flash of your shorts to enrage any group of thugs into attacking you. Anyone would be angry if they were deprived of the perfect panty-shot only you could offer. I suspect that's half the reason you wear those awful shorts, since otherwise you wouldn't be able to vent your frustrations on vandals all the time." Kuroko continued, hoping to take Misaka's mind off of whatever plagued her. Even if that meant making her angry at Kuroko.

"Kuroko," Misaka warned quietly, almost whispering.

"Although I'm actually hoping someone eventually manages to remove those pants from you so that I may see your panties in all their glorious splendo-"

"Shut-up shut-up shut-up!" Misaka lobbed books, boxes, and a paper-weight at the teleporter in quick succession. With reflexes honed by years of martial arts training Kuroko dodged or deflected almost every object thrown, save the paper-weight which unfortunately caught the side of her head and flung her onto her bed. Kuroko curled up into a ball and held her throbbing head.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko complained, "I'll never teleport again if you keep hitting me in the head." Kuroko peeked out between her fingers to catch Misaka staring at her with a hint of guilt on her face. It was just a hint, but it made Kuroko very happy.

"I wouldn't need to if you weren't always so perverted, pervert!" Misaka replied, falling onto her bed.

"I cannot control myself around your beauty. I simply lo-"

"Love me too much to restrain your carnal desires." Misaka finished. "Geh, that sounds weird when I say it." Kuroko laughed, unable to contain herself. Eventually her laughter subsided into silence as the duo lay across their respective beds. Kuroko could make out the sound of the Dorm Mistress scolding a tenant for running in the halls.

"Onee-sama, thanks for not zapping those thugs." Kuroko broke the silence.

"Eh?" Misaka replied. "Oh, it was nothing. I felt a bit guilty though, letting those jerks go like that." Kuroko rolled over to face the taller girl.

"In the future you should call Judgement, though Uiharu can find when you've used your powers by the electrical disturbances." Kuroko commented, hoping against hope that this might be the end of Misaka the Vigilante.

"Mh," Misaka hummed in reply. Kuroko was a little surprised by her Onee-sama's agreeableness, but chalked it up to whatever incident had had her so on edge the week before.

"If you want to talk about it-"

"It's fine." Misaka interrupted, though for reasons different than Kuroko figured. Rather than keeping secrets from Kuroko out of distrust - or rather _because_ it was Kuroko - Misaka needed to keep Kuroko from finding out about her Sisters. "Let me know if you run into any trouble you can't handle. I'd be a bad Senior if I didn't help out my underclassmen, Judgement or not."

"You're not worried about me are yo-"

"Never mind!" Misaka rolled away, apparently finding the opposing wall far more interesting than her roommate. "I'm going to study, don't bug me." With that she carried herself over to her desk and plopped into the worn wooden chair.

"Of course Onee-sama," Kuroko replied, copying Misaka's movements in a slightly more dignified manner and catching up on her studies.

* * *

The next morning found the two asleep in their beds, much to Kuroko's eternal dismay. Although, Kuroko reflected absently while changing from her lingerie into the uniform she was required to wear, their sleeping arrangement wasn't entirely accepted by the teleporter. Rather, nine nights out of ten Kuroko would be shocked out of Misaka's bed in the wee hours of the morning at a speed that would put any arcade coin to shame.

That didn't stop her from trying. There was always that glorious tenth time.

"Onee-sama, you need to wake up or we'll be late." Kuroko called, though they were in no such danger. The sun was only just beginning to peak out above the cityscape at this time of day.

"Take down the camera and I'll get up." Misaka's voice was muffled by the bear of a pillow she slept with. Kuroko couldn't help but frown at that.

"What camera? I don't know what you-"

"The one on the tripod in the corner of the room set to start capturing photos as soon as I start moving." Misaka replied.

"There is no-"

"I can feel it." Misaka interrupted once more. Kuroko's shoulders dropped as she admitted defeat. Misaka's ability to detect electronics at such critical moments confounded the younger girl at every turn.

As Kuroko disassembled the camera, Misaka made herself presentable to the world. Regrettably, that included wearing a pair of shorts that should by all rights have been burnt to cinders when the girl graduated from Elementary School. As for her choice in panties... Kuroko sighed. How they were made in a Middle Schooler's size was beyond her.

In any event Kuroko hurried her Senior down the hall where, with a quick stop for breakfast along the way, the two exited the dorms in a brisk fashion.

"We're not _that_ late." Misaka noted, flipping her phone open and showing Kuroko the time.

"Perhaps not, but if we were to grow complacent then we would waste too much time." Kuroko reasoned, having been the victim of such an experience on more than one occasion.

"I suppose that's true."

"What do you mean you _suppose__?_" Kuroko couldn't help but ask. Misaka rubbed the back of her head as way of apology.

Their walk to the Educational Garden was an uneventful one. It seemed to Kuroko that things only happened in Academy City on evenings, weekends, and holidays. Kuroko had to make the best of the other times and get the unfashionable girl next to her to notice her. Kuroko wished herself good-luck, though it seemed kind of pitiful, even to her.

Still, she'd need all the luck she could get.

* * *

So there you have it! Chapter 2 to a story about a teleporter with a panty fetish and an electromaster who likely has the only Gekoto cell-phone in the world and attacks thugs for sport. This story just reeks of realism! **Next Chapter will be up on the 29th!**

**Mastodonic:** Any and every time! Also, she definitely could and it's something a prodigy would definitely have thought of. For the sake of realism I went back and edited that sentence. Thanks for the heads-up!

**Kamilia07329:** Glad you understood. Let me know if something doesn't make sense or if I make a mistake!

**IdaPhantomhive:** Glad I could assist :D

**Anon:** The power of anonymity is not to be underestimated ;)

**CrossFaded:** That's definitely the route I'll go if I hit a roadblock. I'll be trying my hardest to make sure that doesn't become the case though.

**Ann:** You didn't think I'd let any potential innocent girls get attacked by thugs in a shoujo ai fanfic, did you? ;)


	5. Omake

A/N: Sadly I have been very busy this past week and have not had the inspiration to write another chapter. However, I prepared for this. Somewhat. With that said, please enjoy this short omake based off of the anime special, Much More Railgun!

* * *

_joseph's_ was nearly empty at this time of the day, when the sun had passed it's zenith and was on an intercept course with the horizon. Four girls sat, shakes in hand, at the booth where they always sat. It was more-or-less reserved for them at that point.

"Hey Kuroko," Misaka started, her comment so obviously serious it could not be made more so had she been her own clone and suffixed her comment with the emotion she felt.

"What is it Onee-sama?" Kuroko asked almost boredly, having heard that tone before and knowing full well what was about to play out. She idly held the spoon to her shake as the girl beside her continued.

"Have you ever wondered where all the students are?" Misaka asked. "This city has two point three million students but I see nobody except parents with their children, freight workers, professors, and street thugs."

"Hey! I heard about this!" Uiharu exclaimed, almost flipping her shake in the process. "They call it the 'case of the missing students!' On the forums they always say how weird it is that all of the students seem to never visit any parks or go to any restaurants!"

"I heard a rumor that it's because the students are being abducted by grey-skinned aliens!" Saten added, hardly able to contain her excitement.

"That's it! That's it!" Misaka exclaimed, jumping up from her spot. "This whole city serves the purposes of extraterrestrials who use the students in their crazy experiments!" Kuroko sighed as Misaka continued to press her newest idea.

"That's rediculous Onee-sama. Besides, this is University City. I wouldn't be surprised by anything that happens in University City." Kuroko asserted, her voice seemingly lost in the growing excitement of her three friends. Sudden silence slipped into the conversation.

"And besides, all the students are at school." Kuroko broke from her usual routine, adding an actual answer to the problem. A pregnant pause plunged the four into silence.

"What?" Her three friends replied in unison.

"It's class time right now so all of our classmates are at schoo-" A connection was made somewhere in Kuroko's brain.

"Oh"

* * *

Next chapter will definitely be up by Sunday, October 6th!


	6. Chapter 3: A Certain Set of Sisters

A/N: So far things are going well! As it stands I still have a plot-thing that may or may not be entertaining to read. Anyway, glad to get feedback and I hope you guys keep it up!

Good news! The wonderful Werebane is now beta-reading this story! I hope you enjoy this next, doubly edited chapter of A Certain Scientific Statistic!

* * *

"Will it hurt?" The girl asked, her arm outstretched somewhat unwillingly. The lab assistant standing next to her gave a weak smile, though it looked rather malicious under the florescent glow of the overhead lights. His attempt at reassurance was thus transformed into something much less innocent as he grabbed her arm and placed it inside the single decoration of the room, a miniature MRI-like machine with more arms on its inner surface than could be counted. It reminded the girl of the surgical robots Academy City's hospitals were renowned for.

"It might sting a bit, but we're using powerful pain-killers." The assistant replied. With her arm strapped down the lab assistant crossed the short distance to his console, where he quickly went through a barrage of dialogue boxes and menus. "The Doctor will be in shortly." He said before leaving out the same door the two had entered. The girl shivered, though not due to a lack of heat.

She had been promised a cure to her condition, as well as a job to pay the cost of the cure. At the time she had been thrilled, but now that her arm was immobilized and a hundred mechanical blades hovered over her bare skin, each one sharper than the last, the girl began to doubt her decision.

* * *

With class finished for the day and no other commitments to attend to, Mikoto made her way to the arcade. She didn't think twice about how lonely she must have looked going to the arcade by herself, that was the sort of thing someone like Mitsuko Kongo would think about. For the Electric Princess there was nothing better than to spend a few coins on the machines.

Mikoto's mind turned once again to her sisters. Through a little bit of electrical trickery and a lot of persistence she managed to find the birthdays of every last sister. Mikoto doubted she'd ever memorize all of their birthdays; though the clones were numbered in chronological order by date-of-birth and almost all of them shared birthdays. Mikoto's phone, however, was more than up to the task of recording each clone's time of birth down to the second.

It was with birthdays in mind that Mikoto tried her hand at the claw machine. Given her experience it was a simple enough matter to snag a few pins, finger-dolls, and phone charms. She'd been going to the same machine ever since the day the Experiment stopped in order to win a few dozen bits and bobs every day, though even at that rate it'd take her almost seven months in order to get enough gifts.

Mikoto had long since resigned herself to go shopping for more presents, especially since she had technically missed the Sisters' first birthdays. She felt compelled to get late-presents for the clones but Mikoto didn't want to get them all the same thing. Anything that came from her seemed to make the Sisters happy, but taking advantage of that for her own convenience after all they went through because of Mikoto's actions felt wrong at a fundamental level.

With bag full of goodies in hand - Mikoto had learned on more than one occasion to keep bags with her for just this sort of occasion - the Railgun made her way to the Shopping District. She spent the better part of the afternoon buying clothes and accessories she found cute. _They _were_ clones after all. They probably like the same things I do,_ Mikoto reasoned while ignoring her recollection of Misaka 9982's complaints when Mikoto 'gave' her a pin.

The sun was drawing near the horizon and Mikoto was nearly buried under all of the bags she had acquired. As if waiting for this moment, Mikoto found herself face to face with one of the very Sisters she had hoped to hide from.

"Hello Onee-sama, Misaka says, greeting her older sister." The Sister explained her own statement, which was useful to Mikoto as the Sisters never used any inflection in their speech. Mikoto didn't even bother trying to hid the veritable mountain of goods she was carrying and instead repositioned them so they were easier to carry.

"Um, hi" Mikoto replied. She would likely never get used to seeing her own face outside a mirror, but she no longer felt strange talking to the Sisters. Her Sister leaned to one side with hands behind her back as if inspecting Mikoto's luggage.

"Would you like help with that? Misaka asks, acting like a good little sister in order to collect information without raising alarms." Mikoto was once again caught off-guard by the honest dishonesty of her Sister. However, given the situation Mikoto doubted the Sister would glean any useful information from the bags other than that she was once again buying large quantities of childish commodities.

"Yeah; thanks" Mikoto replied as her Sister relieved her of a considerable number of bags. "I guess I got carried away this time." Mikoto noted with a forced laugh. The two walked out of the gallery and onto a main street where Mikoto's first reaction was to shade her eyes from the afternoon sun. However, laden as she was, she soon gave up on the task and resigned herself to looking at the concrete sidewalk.

"Misaka continues to be surprised by the childish and trouble-making habits of her older sister. Says Misaka while she memorizes the contents of the bags she is carrying-"

"Hey don't do that!" Mikoto snaps, vainly trying to retake the bags she had offloaded onto the Sister.

"Misaka is entertained by the antics of her older sister. Says Misaka as she laughs to herself. Tee hee" Mikoto sighed and gave up on her plight to keep the gifts a secret. With the whole network likely staring through that one Sister's eyes there would be no surprise when Mikoto eventually gave them their gifts. Mikoto sighed once more, kicking a stray can towards one of the many cleaner-bots lining the early evening streets. It gobbled the can up before continuing on its seemingly random course down the sidewalk.

"Onee-sama is occasionally kind. Says Misaka as Misaka observes her older sister kick a can towards a cleaner bot, helping city officials in the process." If Mikoto didn't know better, she'd say her Sisters were all out to embarrass her for fun and sport. The two walked in silence for the remainder of their trip to the Tokiwadai Dormitory. They drew the looks of many pedestrians, giving Mikoto a new appreciation for the social struggles of identical twins.

"This should be far enough. I don't think I could explain a secret twin who doesn't exist according to all the paperwork to my dorm supervisor." Mikoto stopped and turned to her little sister. "I can handle it from here."

"Misaka would like to see Onee-sama's room. Says Misaka as she acts like a selfish little sister in order to get her older sister to show Misaka her room." The Sister made no attempt to hide her motivation from Mikoto, who could only sigh and feel a little guilty at her inability to indulge the clone.

"Like I said, that would be impossible." Mikoto repeated herself while taking the bags from her Sister.

"Misaka is disappointed that she cannot see her Onee-sama's room. Says Misaka expressing her honest feelings while acknowledging the difficulty of the situation." Mikoto didn't know whether that last part was meant to ease her guilt or increase it. She was about to leave the discussion there when she recalled the incident of a few days back.

"Hey, have you or your Sisters seen anything weird recently? Like people wearing wire-suits and stuff?" Mikoto asks. Only ten Sisters remained in Academy City, but even so by asking one Sister Mikoto was effectively asking ten different people. Her Sister stared silently at her for a time, no doubt asking the Misaka Network for information.

"Yes, Misaka 13577 saw a man with a wire-suit attempt to rob a schoolgirl near an alleyway yesterday evening. Says Misaka informatively." Mikoto managed to hide her surprise. She had hoped it was an isolated event however that no longer seemed to be the case.

"Which one is Misaka 13577?" Mikoto asked while she formulated her next questions.

"This one is Misaka 13577. Says Misaka, hurt that her older sister could not distinguish Misaka from her siblings."

"What?" Mikoto was halted in her tracks by the statement. She had no idea how the Sister could expect her to differentiate between nearly ten thousand different identical clones. "Anyway," Mikoto clipped any reply her Sister may have had short. "How did you know he was wearing a wire-suit? Did you attack him? Where was he?" Mikoto rattled off her questions in quick succession.

"Misaka used her goggles to reveal the wire-suit before calling Anti-Skill using a public telephone. Misaka was on the border between District 7 and District 22 when she witnessed the event." Mikoto was relieved to hear her Sisters were not in the habit of playing vigilante despite being clones of the notorious Railgun, a vigilante if ever there was one.

"I see, that helps a lot." Mikoto thanked her sister, turning to resume her walk to the Tokiwadai Dormitory.

"Is Onee-sama going to undertake paralegal operations to investigate the wire-suits? Asks Misaka reproachfully as she warns her Sisters of the recklessness of their older sister." Mikoto paled.

"I'm not going to do anything illeg-" Mikoto cut herself off. She could lie to her Sisters who trusted her to a fault even if they did poke fun at her, or she could tell them the truth and warn them not to do anything rash. She pondered the issue for a long period of time, but Misaka 13577 didn't seem impatient in the least.

"I'm a little worried about what these wire-suits could mean. If they're in the hands of criminals then whoever is producing them might be part of the Underground. I'm going to find their source and if it seems like the wire-suits are really weapons for criminals then I'll destroy the production facilities." Mikoto decided to tell the truth even if it ended up costing her. She owed her Sisters far more than that. "I don't want you or any of the other Sisters doing anything dangerous though."

"Onee-sama plans to face great danger while insisting that her Sisters do not place themselves in danger. Misaka says, pointing out the hypocrisy of her older sister's request." It was obvious from her stance that the Sister was not about to go along with Mikoto's request. Mikoto racked her brain for a solution.

"That's right, because I'm your older sister. It's my job to do the dangerous stuff." Mikoto smiled inwardly at her genius response. She even managed to take her Sister by surprise. She saw a face Mikoto had never seen on a Sister before. Even stranger was the length of time it took for her Sister to come up with a response. Usually the Sisters were sharp as a whip and always had a comment to say as soon as Mikoto's mouth was shut.

"Misaka... Misaka acknowledges Onee-sama's statement and promises not to partake in dangerous activities. Misaka would like to compromise with Onee-sama and be allowed to assist through safe means. Says Misaka while discussing her older sister's comment with her other Sisters." Mikoto could hardly believe her ears. She had hoped that the Sisters might be convinced to not run off and do the job themselves, but instead they were willing to let her do the most threatening parts while helping her out to boot.

"Um, yeah that'd be great." Mikoto could barely hide her surprise, managing only by the skin of her teeth. "Speaking of which, do any of you have cell phones?"

"The Misaka Network links all of the Sisters together, thus we do not need cell phones. Says Misaka as she explains a simple concept to her older sister." Mikoto gritted her teeth. From kind-of-sweet back to daggers. She doubted she'd ever get completely used to her Sisters.

"True, but I'm not _part_ of the Misaka Network." Mikoto felt very weird saying that, but felt even weirder with her next words. "Misaka says as she explains a simple concept to her younger sister." She jabbed back, giving the Sister a taste of her own medicine. For the second time that day the Sister was silenced by surprise. "I'll buy a cellphone for you and give it to you tomorrow in the shopping district at the same time you met me today." Mikoto decided executively. With that she would have another gift for the Sisters as well as a much-needed method of contacting them.

"Misaka will be at the Shopping District at the appointed time. Says Misaka as she eagerly anticipates the type of phone her Onee-sama will get her." Mikoto sighed. It was too much to expect her Sister not to heap on the pressure. With nothing in the way of reply forthcoming, Mikoto merely nodded her reply and made her way to the Dormitory.

* * *

I think those clones are the second most hilarious characters in Raildex, second to Kuroko XD. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! **Next chapter will be up on the 13th!**

**Kamilia07329:** Yea, she has it tough :)

**IdaPhantomhive:** Hehe, it's hard to keep track of 4 characters' mannerisms so thanks for the heads up! I've since corrected it.

**Mastadonic:** Thanks for the compliment!

**ElementalMiko12:** I do my best to get an update out every Sunday (NST) so check back then!

**Lord Arthas is Still Alive:** That's okay. Someone I know helped to translate your comment into English. I'll try to write my reply so that Google Translate can translate it into Spanish easily.

In Chapter 0 I showed that there was no proof that electromagnetism doesn't affect eleven dimensions. I don't know if Misaka's ability would affect an object in the eleventh dimension. Maybe Misaka's ability would affect eleven dimensions. Maybe Misaka's ability wouldn't. I decided that her ability would affect eleven dimensions by the flip of a coin. In other words, both options were right. I had to choose one.

It is true that time is the fourth dimension. However, I do not think Kuroko can travel through time. I think Kuroko can only use the eleventh dimension and not the other dimensions. If she could use those dimensions as well, then she would be able to move objects with her mind (she would have telekinesis, which is a different power in Toaru). This ability is not shown in the anime or the manga.

**Kurokanako:** I agree! On both parts! I love Kuroko's character a lot, but if she is really going to have a chance with Misaka then she needs to learn at least a _little_ bit about personal space.


	7. Chapter 4: A Certain Shady Warehouse

A/N: What if I told you this chapter was written days ago but I refused to publish it ahead of schedule? Just kidding! Like I have that sort of time!

* * *

Kuroko stared absently at the ceiling in a rare moment of inactivity. Her mind instinctively recalled the interior of the false-ceiling and where she could teleport without ruining the landlord's day. Uiharu sat behind her, engrossed in the artificial glow of a half-dozen monitors made by as many different companies.

"Onee-sama is probably in the dorms right now. Maybe she's taking a bath." Kuroko could feel her face grow hot in lecherous abandon as she visualized her sexy senior's skin slick with soap and shampoo. As if sensing her child-inappropriate thoughts, Uiharu leaned back in her chair and swiveled to face the teleporter.

"I wonder if there's anybody who'd be interested in a camera that uses film." Uiharu thought aloud, evidently to nobody in particular.

"Film? With a digital camera I can take thousands of pictures at once, see them as soon as I click the shutter, and store them on my computer. I don't think anyone in Academy City would be interested in an ancient artifact like that." Kuroko replied pointedly, mildly annoyed by the intrusion on her fantasy. She didn't understand why the flower girl had brought up such a strange topic. Especially since Uiharu usually responded to Kuroko's absent comments by reminding her of all the paperwork that needed doing.

"Yea, I guess you're right." There was something in Uiharu's voice that put Kuroko on edge. The teleporter knew Uiharu was up to something, but could not for the life of her figure out what that something was. "Hey Shirai-san, remember when Misaka-san knew my terminal was on without looking?" Uiharu asked out of left field. She was referring to an occasion that occurred during 'Someone's Watching,' which gave Kuroko shivers at least as bad as the incident forced onto Misaka.

"Of course, because she could sense the electromagnetic radiation from the device." Kuroko replied. "She can detect more than terminals. She also knows when automatic sprinklers were tampered with."

"Automatic sprinklers?" Uiharu asked, unable to think of any situation where sprinklers would be tampered with.

"Oh yes, she figured it out just before the sprinklers went off. It was a shame. I was hidden at the other end of the hall ready to take pictures of her uniform clinging to her body under the-"

"Shirai-san!" Uiharu interrupted, her face flushed.

"Anyway, she knows when fans are about to blow up her skirt, or when tripwires grow taught just as she's about to run into them, or when hidden cameras are about to get the perfect sho-" Kuroko's mouth froze in place as she put two and two together. Uiharu, on the other hand, was beginning to regret her decision to encourage her senpai with the promise of an electronically invisible camera.

"I guess there's really no reason for anyone to want a film camera now-a-days." Uiharu all but whimpered in her attempt to retreat from the situation. She prayed for Misaka's sake that Kuroko would let the idea go. Her prayers were in vain.

"Uiharu,"

"Yes?" The Level 1 turned back to her monitors and plunged herself into Judgement work with the false hope that doing so would stave off the inevitable.

"Uiharu, I think I know someone who would be _very_ interested in a film camera." Kuroko began, her voice laced with all the persuasiveness she could muster. "They might even be willing to smuggle certain pastries out of the Learning Garden in order to acquire such a device."

At the mention of delicious high-class sweets all traces of Uiharu's resolve were obliterated. "Oh, I have a film camera right here!" Uiharu plunged into her bag and nearly threw the old machine at her friend and partner in her haste to finalize the deal. With a promise that Kuroko would bring the compensation the next day, both Judgement members returned to their duties with record breaking resolve.

"Another wire-suit incident occurred this afternoon." Uiharu noted, bringing the two down from their delusions and back into the real world. Kuroko spun her chair around and glanced over Uiharu's shoulder.

"That close to the Learning Garden? They're pretty reckless." Kuroko didn't know what to make of the location, right off the Learning Garden's West perimeter wall. She scanned through the details while Uiharu started a search for relevant data.

"What could they be planning with all of these failed petty thefts?" Kuroko asked. Once again the suspects had assaulted a group of middle-school girls and attempted to steal whatever valuables they had.

"I checked their targets and even if they got all of the money from their victims it still wouldn't be enough to cover the estimated cost of their equipment." Uiharu said informatively.

"Still no clue as to where they're based?" Kuroko asked. She had been surprised after more than half-a-dozen similar incidents occurred and no one had found a likely culprit organization.

"No, but I've just traced the copper to a warehouse not far from where the incidents occurred. I'm still working on finding the manufacturer of the firebombs." Uiharu said, reading from a notification that had popped up as she was speaking. To say she had _just_ traced the wire was a very accurate assessment of the situation.

"I'll go take a look. Hopefully our criminals will pick up new stock tonight." Kuroko got up from her chair and began gathering an assortment of low-profile cameras.

"Those cameras are still being repaired after we lent them to another branch." Uiharu chimed. "I can borrow cameras from another Judgement office, but they won't be here until tomorrow at the earliest."

Kuroko sighed, resolving herself to doing an in-person stake-out. "I guess I won't have any time with Onee-sama today."

"I'll ask another office if they can send a team to watch tonight. They'll have cameras they can install." Uiharu offered. She didn't want her senior standing watch late into the night when others could simply install a few cameras and be back in time for dinner.

"As much as I'd love to take you up on that offer and spend time with Onee-sama, I wouldn't be able to look her in the eyes if I thought someone else was taking on my responsibilities while I relaxed." Kuroko replied. She didn't give Uiharu time to respond and teleported away.

* * *

The warehouse was entirely unremarkable. Sitting on a poorly kept plot of land with a few weeds here and there where the low-quality landscape company missed a few spots with their chemicals the building looked quite alike to every other warehouse in Academy City. Low concrete walls surrounded the plot of land as a way of sparing the neighbors from having to look at it day and night, though the neighbors were factories and other warehouses which likely didn't care that this particular lot wasn't very aesthetically appeasing.

With its forgettable appearance the warehouse was the perfect place for criminal activity.

Kuroko took up her watch in a well placed valley on the roof of a nearby factory. She had with her nothing but a pair of binoculars and her earpiece for company as the teleporter kept watch over the warehouse.

Uiharu later chimed on to say she had gotten Konori's approval for the late-night watch and Kuroko felt a momentary stab of guilt. It was impossible for her to act as an official member of Judgement without Uiharu back at base supporting her, meaning the younger girl would have to stay as long as Kuroko was there.

It was too late to back out, however, so Kuroko returned to the task at hand. Occasionally a group of guys or girls would walk past, likely on their way to more interesting locales. Even when the sun had set and curfew settled upon the sleeping city groups would come and go, though they were far more reserved and skittish than those first groups.

It wasn't until a little after midnight that the warehouse started becoming active. Kuroko had nearly missed the dozen-man strong group who slipped in through the side. Her ribs felt like they were going to turn to powder when she got up on her elbows. Kuroko flipped over onto her back and let out a low hiss as the pain assaulted her unprepared mind.

"Shirai-san, is everything alright?" Uiharu called over the headset. Kuroko bit back the string of curses that had nearly forced its way from her mouth.

"Everything's fine, I just forgot some basic training." Kuroko replied through gritted teeth. Indeed, Judgement Basic Training went over the effects of lying prone for too long. However, the pain was not long-lived and Kuroko was soon back to her original state. "Twelve suspicious persons have entered the warehouse from a side door." Kuroko reported over the mic.

"I didn't see anything on camera." Uiharu replied. Kuroko understood why. Despite Academy City's nigh-religious belief in the effectiveness of cameras they still did not cover everywhere. Their absence was even more heavily felt in low-interest places like unassuming warehouses in the middle of industrial zones.

"I'm going to take a closer look." Kuroko said, gathering up her meager on-site possessions.

"Okay, be careful. I don't think these are normal criminals." Uiharu warned over the headset. Kuroko nodded before realizing how ineffective the gesture was and hummed an affirmative.

With a couple quick teleports Kuroko found herself at the high-hung windows meant to allow some degree of light in during daylight hours. She had chosen the window with many considerations in mind. First and foremost was the lack of any lighting which might serve to illuminate her profile through the window to any cautious individual inside.

The interior was even darker than the outside. Even after her eyes had adapted to the night over the course of over four hours it was still difficult to make out anything in the warehouse. However, she did notice a small bar of light which could only be coming from the bottom of a door. After double checking the area just inside the window Kuroko teleported down inside. She looked around once more with cautiousness bred partly from training and mostly from bad experiences.

High metal shelving was built up all around her with alleys in between wide enough to accommodate the automated forklifts that attended to the building's inventory. Kuroko peered into a few of the boxes as best she could but sealed as they were she couldn't see much.

_Guess I'll have to take a look inside that room_, Kuroko thought to herself. She made her way silently through the warehouse's main room to the back where she had seen the bar of light.

Voices emanated from the doorway as Kuroko approached. They were too muffled for her to make out full sentences but she thought she heard something to do with 'The Children' whoever they were. Kuroko doubted this particular group of men (and one woman if Kuroko recalled correctly) was discussing the difficulties of parenthood.

Kuroko walked the perimeter of the room which was located at the corner of the large warehouse leaving her very little perimeter to walk. Nevertheless she was rewarded with her efforts by the presence of a single wide window peering out into the warehouse's main floor. Kuroko sighed inwardly at the light pouring out from the window. Faced as it was she had failed to see it from her outside vantage point and now that she was up close there was no way she could peer inside without being seen.

Suddenly the lights flicked off and Kuroko was plunged into darkness once more. She moved as quickly as she could without making a noise and ducked behind a shelf just as the only door into the room opened.

"Man it's dark in here." The voice was gruff but not particularly low. Kuroko looked through the shelves as best she could and tried vainly to make out their profiles. All she could manage was to count how many there were. Just as she had first suspected there were indeed twelve suspects. That is, until a thirteenth made its way out of the room. Kuroko cursed herself as the thirteenth individual joined the group making its way to the side door they had entered by. One of them must have slipped in while Kuroko was belly up like a dead fish. She had to resist the urge to bang her head against the shelving for making such a dumb mistake.

With flashlights turned on the group quickly found its way to the side door. Kuroko teleported onto the roof where she had a clear vantage over the door in question and took out her camera, ready to snap shots of the suspects as they walked into the illumination of nearby streetlights. Located as she was Kuroko was near enough to hear one of the members make a surprising remark.

"Someone is trying to take pictures of us." It was a girl's voice. The group was still inside the building and Kuroko couldn't get a shot of them, but even more importantly she needed to get into cover and figure out how they knew she was there.

Kuroko hid behind a pipe whose purpose she could only guess at as three figures all wearing festival masks walked out into the light. One of them, the shortest by far, turned to face Kuroko. The figure pointed directly at the teleporter and a chill went down her spine. Kuroko knew that feeling, it was the feeling she got just before her Onee-sama struck her with lightning.

Kuroko didn't wait to see if her gut-feeling was right. She teleported to neighboring rooftop just as an arc of electricity spanned the gap between the small figure and the pipe Kuroko had just been hiding behind.

The teleporter was far too arrogant to allow a single electromaster to dissuade her and with her new vantage she could snap a few shots of the people still lingering inside. She snapped the shutter a few times before teleporting further away, just in time to avoid another electrical attack.

"Uiharu," Kuroko called over the headset, confident she was far enough away that the suspects wouldn't hear her. "One of the suspects is a high level electromaster, level 4. They're short in stature, probably a hundred fifty five centimeters or so."

"I'll take a look in the database. In the mean time I think you should return to the office. We don't know if there aren't any other espers with them and if we called anti-skill now they'd have almost nothing on them."

"I have a few pictures but some of them are wearing masks. It might be worth checking into so I'll head back to the Office before turning in." Kuroko replied before snapping off a few more shots. Most of the group had taken cover so she doubted any of the shots would be useful. The short figure was an exception to that rule. The festival mask stared coldly at Kuroko, unflinching and unintimidated by the risk of discovery. Kuroko frowned before teleporting away.

* * *

Wondering where this warehouse is? From a canon sense it is most likely located on the far Western side of District 11, which is definitely not inside the jurisdiction of Judgement Branch Office #177. Yet with at least 176 other branch offices and a total of zero screen-time for any of them despite the wide-range of incidents in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, I can't help but think these branches don't really care about things like 'jurisdiction.'

Anyway, **next chapter will be up on the 19th!**

**DigiPal:** You mean 10032? I agree, it seems like she's the only one that gets any love. It was tough writing a different sister at first because since there are only ten sisters in Academy City and I had to find out which ones were still there. However, this way I have a bit of freedom to choose the nuances in her personality.

**Mastodonic:** You're correct in that it's not a normal spatial dimension like the others and I had originally written that out. However, I wanted to make my reply as machine-translatable as possible and so avoided using any heavy wording.

As to it's classification, time is a dimension and is very integrated with distance. The reason why we call the substrate of our universe 'space-time' is because the two are so heavily intertwined. It doesn't appear that way under normal day-to-day conditions, but at high speeds or large distances and the like very odd things happen which can only be explained when assuming time is a dimension as well. In fact, Einstein's Theory of Relativity is based on the supposition that time is a dimension and as best we can tell it's a valid theory.

Anyway, time being a dimension or not I'll be sticking with the notion that Kuroko only has access to the eleventh dimension in order to explain why she can't move objects like a telekinesis esper.

Feel free to post reviews like this that test out the science I've used. I don't think any less of you for your reviews even if they sound know-it-all'ish (which they absolutely don't :D ) and in fact very much enjoy our discussions. So far you and others have caught quite a few mistakes and I really appreciate it.


	8. Chapter 5: A Certain Sister's Cellphone

A/N: First off I wanna apologize for being a bit late with this one (30 minutes so don't kill me!). Anyway, turns out wishing these chapters would write themselves doesn't make it happen. Also, some of you may be wondering when all the Misaka X Kuroko's gonna happen. I've sorta let you out to dry in that department but worry not! Next chapter there will be Misaka X Kuroko or I don't know English!

Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

A ghost of a spark traveled through the wire. Even the most attentive power station would not have picked out anything unique about this particular fluctuation. Merely starting a dishwasher would produce larger eddies. With speed only electricity could be reasonably expected to reach the charge flew onward to its destination.

An innocuous camera froze for the barest fraction of a second as its processor executed its most recent order. The lens swiveled around, its motions hidden by a black cup. There in front of it walked two individuals. One was the Level 3 telekinesis Esper Aoi Tachibana and the other, her Level 0 friend Sakura Kawaguchi.

"I've found them. They're beneath the bridge moving North." The voice, vacillating between innocence recently lost and the hard tone of a woman newly exposed to the darker half of reality, was far removed from the scene of two girls walking.

"Very well, go get them."

* * *

Mikoto stood bleary-eyed at the little shop. Her usual morning routine had been positively ruined by Kuroko's late return from Judgement. The girl had been positively ecstatic at the prospect of snuggling up close to Mikoto while she was asleep. Neither of them had been very pleased to find that Mikoto was awake, but she would rather not have been fondled while sleeping either.

Mikoto was thus entirely in her own world when a goggle bedecked individual poked her in the side.

Mikoto jumped from the contact with a high-pitched yelp. "What the?" Mikoto's brain went about the formidable task of switching its focus from the delusions of a sleep-deprived esper to the reality surrounding her.

"Tee hee, Misaka laughs, entertained by the ticklish nature of her older sister." Came the monotone voice that could only come from a person whose emotions were almost entirely the result of a computer program's attempt at education. Mikoto glared at the genetic replica but made no move to reprimand the girl. Had Kuroko decided to poke her then the story would have turned out differently.

"You're late." Mikoto noted irritably. She had been standing at the shopfront for the better part of a half hour before the Misaka clone had arrived.

"Misaka is, in fact, thirteen seconds early when her arrival is measured by the time at which she poked her older sister. Says Misaka as she states an objective truth."

"If you're not five minutes early, you're late." Mikoto replied, adamant in her belief that the clone was, in fact, late. That seemed to be a good enough explanation for Misaka as the girl nodded but otherwise made no move to do anything whatsoever. Mikoto shrugged and headed for a different part of the market district while her younger sister fell in behind her.

Being a city of considerable technological wealth, the sheer size of the electronics area was considerable. In fact, unlike most cities which had more clothes retailers than anything else, Academy City boasted no less than two computer-hardware/software, or commercial electronics shops for every other kind of shop available.

Mikoto naturally drifted towards the parts of the district that marketed themselves towards children while her sister made every attempt to steer her to more mature sections of the bustling commerce hub.

"Onee-san's taste is as childish as ever, says Misaka as Misaka observes her older sister holding a phone she would be ashamed to use in public." Mikoto couldn't help but wince at that comment as she hurriedly dropped the phone in question back in its holder.

"Fine, choose one yourself and let me know when you've got the one you want." Mikoto announced in her bid to avoid wasting the entirety of the afternoon standing around while her taste in merchandise was mercilessly assaulted.

Mikoto's sister seemed agreeable to the idea and set out with renewed vigor in her quest to find the perfect cell phone. It seemed that the clone was on the receiving end of a great deal of chatter from her sisters on the Network, as she would stand staring at a cellphone for minutes on end before setting it down and continuing to the next.

As such Mikoto's attempt to rescue some small portion of the free time she had between school's end and curfew's beginning failed miserably. At first she had maintained a degree of sophistication, not once bothering her sister as the girl moved from stand to stand but when it became apparent that she would likely spend all night and a greater portion of the next day merely looking at each cellphone Mikoto decided to intervene.

"I know I was the one who offered to bring you here and get you a cellphone, but we're all mortal here so how about you pick something and be done with it." Mikoto clipped. She attempted to be as kind as her temper would allow but doing so only kept her tone from venturing to the far side of murderous.

However, an inability to read the mood was the Misaka Network's saving grace even as it was its greatest weakness.

"This one, says Misaka choosing the most technically sophisticated, highly reviewed, and critically acclaimed cellphone available." Mikoto secretly believed the clone also chose that particular phone because it was the most expensive around. Money hardly mattered in her wealth bracket and she called over an employee who fetched a copy from some hidden location and rang it up for her.

"Comission," Mikoto whispered under her breath. The man who assisted them wore the same bland uniform that A Certain High Schooler wore. He watched gleefully as the middle school prodigy used her own cellphone to buy the new one, not even bothering to comment on how childish the Gekota style design was.

"Here you are." Mikoto said, handing the cellphone to her sister. "You do know how they work, right?" She only just thought of how problematic it would be to leave her little sister with a phone and no idea how to work it.

"Of course, Misaka has read the owner's manual as well as a number of mod forums and is fully versed both in the phone's operation and in the operation of it's underlying operating system, says Misaka as Misaka attempts to use the word 'operation' as many times as she can." Mikoto's hand flew to her head of its own volition.

"Great, then lets swap numbers and be on our way. I've accidentally promised Kuroko I would make time to meet up with her today." Mikoto said, holding up her phone. She couldn't help but notice once again how different she was from her clones. The cellphone her sister held up screamed 'technogeek' with its roll-out screen and black finish.

"Misaka would like to meet Kuroko, says Misaka as Misaka tries to gleen more information about her older sister's friends." Mikoto cursed herself for having let slip such a dangerous name, though the Network had already seen Kuroko from the shadows.

"You know as well as I that that would be impossible. She might die from ecstasy."_There was no _might_ about it_, Mikoto thought to herself. As they argued the two made their way out of the commercial district and back towards the Tokiwadai Dorm area.

The Sister pondered that for a moment when a rock struck her arm.

"Ow, exclaims Misaka as she reacts to the pain in her arm." Mikoto spent no time assessing her sister's health and instead pushed her back and stared down the alley they had just passed.

"Who threw that?" Though it was a question Mikoto's words were nothing short of a command. A trio of individuals, two tall men and a woman who wasn't much shorter shrugged off the shadows that secluded them. Mikoto could hardly believe that they were willing to assault a Tokiwadai student in full view of a street, albeit a side street.

"That was I." Said the woman, her voice smooth yet aggressive. As she spoke the two men drew guns. If their attacking a student had surprised her, the presence of firearms in the city made Mikoto's jaw drop. "I'm sure you're wondering how we managed to sneak guns into the city." The woman continued. Mikoto began to hope that she would explain how she got them like any idiot with a plot in Academy City but she was more tight-lipped than that.

The two men fired.

If their aim was to hit Mikoto then they needed more practice, but she knew instinctively that they were aiming for her sister. Nevertheless the bullets never reached her and were instead flung viciously into the sides of the alley.

"That was pretty quiet." Mikoto noted when the loud report which usually followed a discharge was not forthcoming.

"Magnetic slugs, heavy kickback, altered barrel and receivers, small magazine, wire, those weapons are railguns. Says Misaka as she determines the nature of the weapons." Mikoto's sister wasn't fazed by the sudden violence in the least, which was understandable given the Network's history.

"It would seem so." Mikoto knew the instant they fired and electricity coursed through their rails that the guns were exact duplicates of her own Railgun. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours, eh?" With that she dug into her pocket and pulled out a single unassuming silver coin. "I would go all out but frankly the wind shear alone would rip your faces off so I'll have to settle for a third my usual speed."

It was at that point that the three would-be thieves and assaulters figured out exactly who they were dealing with.

"Oh, you're the Railgun?" The woman in the middle asked, not nearly as scared as Mikoto would have liked.

"The one and only." She flipped the coin. It flew exactly as high as she wanted before falling back to a perfect firing position.

Mikoto did not have the chance to fire it, however, as three more rounds flew at her.

"A third?" Mikoto deflected the first two easily but the third was much heavier and it was traveling much faster.

"That's not all." The woman announced. Two more came screaming at her, each one deflected by her static shield yet the barrage did not end there. One after another slugs came zooming towards the Electromaster. Mikoto watched as the woman held her arm outstretched, coins traveling along its length.

"That's a neat trick you have there." Mikoto couldn't quite hide the surprise in her voice. Not a single Electromaster in all of Academy City except Mikoto could pull off a railgun, or so she had thought. "Still, it's a shadow of what I can do."

Mikoto flicked her thumb. The arcade coin arced up once more and this time no salvo of slugs would distract her as Mikoto lined up her shot. With a flash the coin was gone and the woman was flung backwards.

"Not the best idea, trying to stop my Railgun head-on." Mikoto announced, pulling out another coin. The two men fired a few more times and retreated into the alley, dragging the woman along with them as they fired vainly in a last-ditch effort to injure the electric princess.

Mikoto slipped the arcade coin back into her pocket and turned to her sister. "Are you hurt?" She asked, gesturing to where the rock had struck the clone.

"I'm in good health, says Misaka as Misaka reports her current condition." The Sister's reassurance was received with much relief by her Original.

"That saves me the work of having to track them down and make them pay." Mikoto replied. She was silent for a time after that. The sun was near to setting due to the Sister's overlong shopping mission but even in the dim evening light Mikoto could tell that her coin had not hit the woman hard enough to make her bleed, given the lack of blood in the alley.

"Was it just me, or did that woman have metal parts _inside _her body?"

"Misaka also noted the presence of magnetic parts, says Misaka informatively." Mikoto spun around to face her sister.

"You can see electric fields? I thought you were a Level 3!"

"With the aid of my electron night vision goggles I can see electric field lines in close proximity, says Misaka gesturing to her goggles." Indeed the girl was pointing at the goggles positioned just over her eyes.

"You are full of surprises." Mikoto noted, lethargy creeping into her voice as the adrenaline coursing through her veins began to decrease. "Just be careful when you're heading home."

"Misaka is always fully alert when traveling, unlike her sister who is clearly very tired despite the early hour. Says Misaka as Misaka baits her sister into anger." Mikoto merely shook her head.

"Not this time. When you get back take a look in to labs that are conducting surgery experiments. While you're doing that I'll have a chat with Kuroko about this incident. Hopefully we can nip this one in the bud and not be caught with our pants down like we usually are." Mikoto said. She was certain that with Kuroko, Uiharu, and Saten's help that they could take care of the problem quickly. It was merely a matter of marshaling their forces.

It still felt unnatural to depend on others after years of running solo, but Mikoto wasn't about to argue with the results.

* * *

Some of you may be wondering why Misaka noted the railgun was quiet. Well, it was still loud rest assured but your standard firearm operates by turning dense solids into not-so-dense gases right behind the bullet. The resulting pressure flings the bullet out but even after the bullet has left the barrel there's still quite a lot of highly pressurized gas remaining in the barrel which produces considerable noise when released into the atmosphere. In fact, the principle of a so-called 'silencer' is to reduce this effect by providing a space where the gases leaving the barrel can expand before exiting the silencer. Therefore a railgun firing is distinctively quieter than a normal firearm.

**Next chapter will be out on the 27th!**

**Digipal:** For the moment I'm planning on sticking to Misaka and Kuroko as I don't really see any way I can seamlessly integrate Saten and Uiharu in POV-wise. I'll see what I can do though. Anyway, I'm glad you liked it!

**Explosion Ninja:** Yep, release dates are at the bottom of each chapter, right above this reply actually ^

**Werebane:** Who are you and why did you review my story?! :D Just kidding, I'm really trying to emulate the Railgun atmosphere so I'm glad it's working out.

**Mastadonic:** Please do :)


	9. Chapter 6: A Certain Couple of Roommates

A/N: Here you are! This was a really tough chapter to write but I put a lot of effort into it! Still, I feel like it might be a little odd so my apologies if things don't sound as natural as they should be. Anyway, give it a read and tell me what you think!

* * *

Kuroko stared dejectedly at the piece of technology in front of her. The unassuming relic of a camera stared back at her as though unaware of the difficulties it brought upon her. At first Kuroko had decided to test the camera on some scenery and a few students walking to or from class. The results, after two web purchases relating to photo development and many hours of how-to videos combined with a few books on the subject from Tokiwadai's considerable library, were less than satisfactory. The lens had enough scratches that images turned into less-than-dutiful replicas of the view they were meant to capture. Factoring in Kuroko's own lack of skill with the camera and she began to seriously doubt it'd ever capture the view she had in mind.

"Nothing great is ever easily achieved." Kuroko mumbled to herself reassuringly. With computer at hand the teleporter made her third purchase for the project. It took longer to locate a replacement lens but she managed nevertheless and was soon brought victoriously to the 'transaction completed' screen.

With her pet-project thus completed, or at least brought to a pausing point, Kuroko stood up from her desk and surveyed the dorm room. Both beds were neatly made with Kuroko's being rather spartan in appearance while Misaka's was bedecked in not one, but now two separate animal pillows. The bear had been joined by what Kuroko could only determine was, in fact, some form of bear-gekota hybrid. It was rather unattractive.

It's attractiveness was often beside the point when Misaka was away and Kuroko was allowed to play. The stuffed-animal had been defiled more than once by the far-from-innocent teleporter.

Kuroko struggled to keep from acting on her lecherous thoughts. The battle of her mind was won but only marginally. In an effort to keep clean Kuroko pondered about the assignment she had completed just the other day involving a certain warehouse and a mysterious electromaster. She still could not believe that the electromaster was there, especially one of her level. Kuroko knew without a doubt that the girl was most certainly a Level 4 yet the database had nobody with her general characteristics at that level.

A realization dawned upon her as Kuroko stood staring at her empty room. Uiharu had _tricked _her. Kuroko could think of it no other way. In exchange for cakes, _dutifully delivered_ Kuroko thought to herself menacingly, Uiharu had given up an old camera with a lens which was virtually inoperable. A sense of malice came over the girl to which the environment itself seemed to feel as the woodwork creaked in its attempt to escape.

Kuroko's minimalistic cellphone was out of her pocket in a flash.

"Uiharu," Kuroko said after the device had connected.

_"Y-yes Shirai-san?" _Uiharu's tone betrayed her guilt as swiftly as any solid evidence.

"I was just taking a few pictures with this camera you traded me when the most surprising thing happened." Kuroko could almost feel the apprehension emanating from the other side.

_"Please forgive me!" _Uiharu didn't give Kuroko the time to finish. _"I'll make it up to you just don't tell Saten-san about the panties!"_

"The wh-" Kuroko paused. She certainly had no idea what panties had anything to do with the matter, but if Uiharu thought she had something over the Level 1 then who was she to argue? "How do you plan to do that?" Kuroko asked instead.

"I-I have an idea. Go to the park Misaka always visits two hours from now and wear something nice."

"Tokiwadai rules state-"

"I have a video showing you teleporting into the Tokiwadai Dorms." Kuroko did not need Uiharu to elaborate on that particular threat.

"Uiharu?" The line went dead, and with it any chance she had of learning more about Uiharu's plan.

Kuroko stared at the phone in a state of mild confusion before turning to the task at hand: Finding something nice to wear without knowing why. She played it safe and decided on a modest Viridian Green wrap dress with short-cut sleeves with a knee-length hemline. It was probably the least suggestive thing she owned, aside from her uniform.

* * *

It took the teleporter the better part of an hour to work herself into presentable shape. The job was made easier by her ability, for whenever she made a mistake with her make-up or decided on a different hair accessory a simple teleport would do away with the problem.

Kuroko was forced to sneak out of the Dorms and down many city blocks before deciding it safe enough to be seen in public. She was certain Uiharu would deal with erasing the camera footage which, if left to its own devices, would most certainly be used by Tokiwadai to incriminate her.

It was nearly three o'clock by the time Kuroko found herself sitting in a bench besides a certain vending machine. She glanced at the ordinary device and felt both pity and respect for it. That it had managed to operate so long despite being the victim of numerous attacks both electrical and otherwise was a testament to the engineering ingenuity of its creators.

Kuroko stood after a time - the bench proving to be far less comfortable than it had first appeared - and began to conjure up a number of reasons why Uiharu might bring her to such a place and with all of the difficulties having her wear something against school regulations necessitated but could not for the life of her figure out which one was the real reason.

That reason soon presented itself.

"Kuroko?" Kuroko turned to face the voice which, to her ears at least, signaled the coming of Heaven on Earth, with a tasteful quantity of Hell thrown in for good measure. Standing before her was none other than the Ace of Tokiwadai, Misaka Mikoto. Unlike Kuroko Misaka was wearing her uniform, replete with shorts Kuroko had no doubt.

"Onee-sama," Kuroko's voice was but a whisper, surprised both by Misaka's appearance and how Kuroko must have appeared to the girl dressed up as she was and standing as if at her leisure in a park. It was ironic, then, that the teleporter didn't even notice the slight blush Misaka wore, or the way her hands grabbed at her skirt, or how she suddenly couldn't look the shorter girl in the eyes.

"What are you doing dressed up like that?" Misaka asked, scanning the pavement while occasionally glancing Kuroko's way.

"Uiharu invited me here." Kuroko replied honestly, unable to think of a proper cover-up in her anxiety-wrecked state. She felt very much like a girl caught by surprise by the one she liked and in a situation very close to what she might expect the beginning of a date to be like. The first part was true, she supposed.

"She also told me to come here." The two stood awkwardly for a time after that. Each wondering what the other thought while also trying to figure out what to do next. While normally prepared for any encounter Kuroko might have with her beloved Onee-sama, both her state of dress and Misaka's appearance had pushed Kuroko outside her element; she didn't have a single plan. "I'll call Uiharu up and ask her what's going on." Misaka said after a moment, pulling out her embarrassingly childish cellphone and pressing it to her ear.

"Uiharu," Misaka greeted. Kuroko couldn't hear the reply but she could surmise that it was an answering machine given Misaka's reaction. She snapped the phone shut and slipped it back into her pocket. "You didn't set this up, did you?" Misaka seemed to have recovered from her surprise and was ready to press the assault she so often levied upon the shorter girl.

"No," Kuroko's replied. "I thought I was going to meet Uiharu and go somewhere that only allowed people wearing formal attire to attend." Mention of her dress was enough to pressure Misaka's insides into anxious action as the older girl tried her hardest to replace the difficult emotion with the more familiar anger she felt near Kuroko.

"That would explain these." Misaka held a pair of tickets out so Kuroko could see them. They were for entrance into a private collection of electromagnets and laser equipment owned by one of the CEO's of a company that Kuroko did not recognize. "They'll probably let me in since I'm the Railgun but the tickets definitely say participants must wear formal attire."

"Should we go?" Kuroko asked. She had finally regained a semblance of her composure and jumped for the chance to share some secluded one-on-one time with her Onee-sama. Even if that meant touring around a heavily monitored collection of thoroughly uninteresting machines.

"The collection's being moved to the owner's vacation home in America after today, so I guess this is my last chance to see it." Misaka mumbled. Kuroko made a mental note to keep an eye out for similar events. She had never known her roommate had such an interest in electrical equipment especially given her affinity for destroying it. Kuroko did admit to herself that it only made sense for an electromaster to like electric machines.

* * *

Kuroko struggled to keep up with Misaka as they walked through the city. The older girl seemed more frustrated than usual and had no qualms with venting that anger on her. She was used to that but she wasn't used to the way Misaka would look back as if to make sure the teleporter was keeping up, or how she would occasionally slow her pace when Kuroko began to seriously struggle with her dress.

Kuroko's gut instinct told her that she was seeing a part of Misaka she hadn't seen before, and that she would have to step very carefully in order to keep her Onee-sama from becoming truly angry with her. She didn't have long to ponder it though, as they had arrived at their destination.

The building where the collection resided was an unassuming piece of architecture which seemed very much at home in its place between offices. Kuroko would have passed it by without a second glance on any other day. The man standing attendance at the front desk looked quizzically at Misaka before two and two became four in his head and he recognized her as the Railgun. After that they were whisked away in an elevator to the upper levels.

Kuroko had thought they would be led by a tour-guide but a quick glare by Misaka made sure the two were left in the relative privacy of their own selves and a couple dozen actively monitored closed-loop cameras.

The collection sat on the highest floor, with sunlight coming in from the windows which made up the walls. Blue carpeting reflected the sunlight and cast a cold light over the electronics on display.

"I didn't know you were interested in these kinds of things." Kuroko said as the two made their way around the room. Booths and tables were arrayed seemingly at random. Upon them sat toroidal electromagnets, superconductors, gas lasers and things whose purposes Kuroko couldn't even begin to guess at. Misaka paused in her tracks and remained frozen for a time as she contemplated how to answer the teleporter.

Silence pervaded the room. Kuroko was worried she had stepped on a landmine. Her mind was running at full-speed as she tried to figure out what she had done wrong and what she could do to make up for it. Misaka interrupted her thoughts.

"When I was a Level 1 I didn't really understand my power," Misaka began. "I could make a voltmeter hiccup if I tried and the teacher would make an effort every now and again to teach me some electromagnetism theory but I never really _got _any of it." Kuroko's full attention was focused on Misaka, who rarely volunteered information from her past.

"One day when my mother was feeling more like an adult and less like the child she usually is we went to a science museum. It was filled with exhibits on everything from archaeology to computer science but I was drawn to the History of Electricity. When I could _see _how a capacitor worked or how a current actually deflected a compass; it all started to make sense." Misaka rested her hand on the table near one of the high-powered magnets. Kuroko's power defied representation, and she had had to rely on shear mathematical ability from the very beginning to unlock her ability. Misaka wasn't like Kuroko though. She didn't relish in the opportunity to solve systems of equations. She liked to visualize her problem, and Kuroko could understand how much seeing her power work would help Misaka.

"After that I soon became a Level 2 and whenever I felt stuck, like no matter how hard I focused or how much I pushed my power nothing would change, I'd visit that Museum and everything would get a little easier. When Uiharu mentioned to me that she had gotten tickets for her efforts in securing her branch office's computer systems I asked her if I could go with her. I had felt powerless and I hoped I might learn something like I did back at the Museum."

"Why would you feel powerless?" Kuroko asked. "You're the third strongest Esper in the world." Misaka turned her attention from the magnet and looked Kuroko in the eye.

"Put a tiger, a bear, a bunch of squirrels, and a million flies in a cage and one of the squirrels will rank third. That's how I feel. Revered as the third strongest yet nowhere near powerful enough to keep the things close to me safe."

"I suppose that would make me a fly." Kuroko replied. She had meant it as a way to cheer Misaka up but it came out a bit sullen.

"That's not what I meant!" Misaka pounded her fist against the table as electricity arced across her hair. A loose nail flew across from the floor and stuck itself to the electromagnet. Misaka glared at the object before taking a deep breath.

The nail dropped to the table.

The world seemed to pause, as if time itself had frozen and had no intention of resuming its mechanical pace.

"That's not what I meant." She repeated quietly. Kuroko didn't know what to do, how to handle the situation. She didn't have any plans for this. Misaka rarely showed the girl this side of her.

Kuroko didn't have a plan but she put her hand over Misaka's anyway.

The two stood like that for what felt like an eternity as Misaka regained her self-control. Kuroko in silence because she didn't know the words she could say and Misaka in silence because she couldn't say the words she knew.

Misaka stepped away from the table. Kuroko's hand returned to her side as she followed the electromaster to the next table.

"I thought being the third strongest meant I would never have to worry about protecting my friends and family from harm, but even a Level 0 can beat me in a fight. They rank us by absolute power. How fast can the subject throw a coin? How hot can they heat a kilogram of water? How far can they teleport? Those rankings mean nothing in combat. You could put your hand on mine and teleport my heart away. Shokuhou-san could force everyone I know to turn on me, or on each other. Accelerator..." Misaka trailed off.

Kuroko was surprised by the sincerity in Misaka's words. The Railgun had thought about the matter for some time to come to that sort of conclusion. Kuroko almost reached out to grab her hand again but before she could Misaka recovered.

"I have all these techniques that are handy in a fight but I've never really tried to come up with techniques specifically for combat. The teachers all want me to weaponize my power but I don't want to become a living weapon." She paused again, though it was more a breath than a silence. "I _didn't_ want to."

Misaka continued around the room, glancing occasionally at this machine or that. "Recently I've learned that I don't have the luxury of using my power for study with a little defense on the side. I won't try and take everything on myself again. I learned the hard way how ineffective that can be, but I need to learn techniques I can use to keep everyone safe from the demons of this city."

Misaka placed her hand on one of the lasers and a neon beam emanated from it. "I think this museum has a lot of inspiration."

The laser grew dim as Misaka focused her attention elsewhere. Kuroko followed silently, exceedingly happy that Misaka had shared so much about herself yet worried for the first time in a long while that Misaka was becoming something she didn't want to be.

The sun was down by the time the duo returned to Tokiwadai's second dormitory, Kuroko's ability saving them from the heavy hand of the Dorm Mistress. They wordlessly changed into their pajamas and slipped into their respective beds. Kuroko had a lot on her mind but she felt exhausted and nearly fell asleep before Misaka's voice pierced the solitude.

"Kuroko?"

"What is it Onee-sama?" Kuroko turned around to face her roommate.

"Today was nice. It was the first nice time I've had with you as far as I can remember, so... Thanks."

Kuroko almost cried, but instead she smiled and bid the Railgun good night.

She had been tired a moment before, but after that Kuroko didn't get a wink of sleep.

* * *

I don't know these dress things and such so my apologies if what I described is wrong/dreadful. It was tough to come up with something Kuroko would wear of her own volition and Misaka would find stunning. Please let me know if you think there's something better out there so I can edit the chapter.

That being said, I love all this good feedback I'm getting (it's really great!) but my story only gets better when you dish out some of the bad as well. Don't hold back, I'm a grown-up!

Anyway, **Next**** Chapter will be up on the 3rd!**


	10. Chapter 7: A Certain Group of Friends

A/N: I have sad news for you guys. As you may already be aware November is also known in certain circles as National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. During this month individuals of all shapes and sizes come together to write stories. There are only a few rules in this event, among them are that the works need to be original fiction (but it's only like a half-rule and there is even a section on the official forum for the event where people writing fanfics ect. are encouraged to discuss their works) and that the authors need to write 50000 words worth of the stories in a month. November, to be precise

The reason for that long-winded explanation is that I plan on participating this November; which means I'll need to write ~667 words _a day_ to make the goal. I love writing. It's an absolute joy for me. However, I am also a student and I don't have as much time as I would like. I will try my absolute best to juggle school, NaNoWriMo, and this fanfic to continue bringing you a chapter each week but I ask that you cut me some slack if that should prove impossible.

With that out of the way I now present you the next chapter! (Huzzah!)

* * *

Misaka stared at the bear mere centimeters in front of her. She had spent the majority of the night replaying the previous evening in her mind over and over again. She analyzed what she had said, what Kuroko had said, how Kuroko had acted, and most importantly, why Misaka had reacted so strangely when she saw Kuroko in the park.

_She was just wearing nice clothes for once._ Misaka thought; and not for the first time since she had seen the teleporter in the park. Kuroko had appeared as something fragile yet commanding, like a queen who didn't realize she commanded whole armies. No matter how hard she tried Misaka couldn't think of that Kuroko as the one who always groped her in the showers and wore her panties as some sort of hat.

Misaka was both saddened and relieved that Kuroko did not always behave elegantly, though she would never admit it. It was far easier for her to be frustrated with the teleporter than to deal with the string of emotions battling for her attention. Misaka felt different than when she was around Touma. The butterflies making tours around her lower abdomen were the same, but there were subtle differences in how she felt. Most critically she had not felt the strong urge to incinerate Kuroko with lightning, though in retrospect Misaka did recall unconsciously zapping a number of nearby poles and the like as the two had walked to the collection.

Her pondering came to an end as the sun made its presence known.

_The time has come_, Misaka thought sullenly to herself. A greater threat than that of a Kuroko who knew her secrets occupied her mind at that moment, however.

Kuroko was still in her bed, presumably asleep. That much Misaka could have told by feeling the electronic beat of her heart. However Misaka had been awake throughout the moonlit hours and knew for fact that Kuroko had not set any cameras in position or programmed any robots to move them. She was still hesitant. Kuroko would certainly take the day prior as an invitation to violate some part of Misaka's privacy and it was her job to figure out which part.

As if peeking in on her thoughts, Kuroko began to stir.

"Cameras?" Misaka intoned, the question not needing further elaboration.

"Onee-Sama, to think you would doubt my moral integrity. As a member of Judgement I am ashamed." Kuroko replied in her usual manner.

"I don't doubt your moral integrity at all. That would be as much as admitting you had any moral integrity to begin with." Misaka flipped around toward the center of the room, head still hidden under her invaluably protective covers.

"If I see any cameras-" Misaka began.

"I assure you there are no cameras. After all, you would sense them wouldn't you?" Kuroko replied, her voice almost mocking. A shiver went down Misaka's spine.

"Unless you put them in Faraday cages again." Misaka replied. "Need I remind you what happened the last time you tried that?" Through the covers she could see Kuroko sitting up in her bed. The girl turned away and a visible shudder ran over her.

"F-Faraday cages?" Kuroko's first successful picture of her elusive Onee-sama had been using a camera in a cage. She soon learned that it was one thing to get a few pictures of Misaka, it was quite another to keep her from destroying them after the fact.

"Don't play dumb with me." Misaka's voice was low and threatening.

"I assure you I have not attempted to mask the electrical signals of any device in this room." Kuroko replied matter-of-factly. Misaka sat silent for a time. Kuroko would often deceive Misaka, but she rarely ever outright lied to the girl.

Misaka threw off her covers and began the arduous process of making herself presentable while Kuroko struggled on the verge of lecherous abandon as she attempted to appear nonchalant in her morning routine. Misaka took a look around the room carefully probing every inch for the tell-tale sign of an electronic device. However, with nothing to be seen visually or electrically Misaka reassured herself that Kuroko was merely jubilant over their 'day out' the previous evening.

"Onee-Sama, what are your plans today?" Kuroko asked with a voice that could only be described as 'ecstatic.'

"We're meeting up with Uiharu and Saten today. Did you forget the plans you made? I planned on going to the arcade today but you insisted that we focus our efforts on the wire-suit problem." Kuroko stared dumbfoundedly at her for a while before comprehension spread across her face.

"Of course! I simply wanted to make sure my beloved Onee-Sama had remembered such an important event." Kuroko exclaimed. Misaka didn't bother with a retort and instead held the door open for the younger girl as the two made their way into Academy City.

* * *

Four girls sat around the metal-grate table in front of a roadside pastry shop, enjoying the afternoon sun. Two wore the tan-colored uniforms of the prestigious Tokiwadai Academy while the other two wore the more conventional uniforms of Sakugawa Middle School.

The waitress, most certainly also a student, came by with a tray loaded down with cakes, parfaits, and all manner of sugary delights. There was no collection of girls as happy as these four when those desserts arrived at the table. Among them none were as happy as the flower girl who quite nearly fainted at the sight of so many confections in one location.

At first the group merely ate, only the occasional snippet of small-talk interrupting them. Soon they ate their fill, however, and conversation became their only viable source of entertainment.

"So why did you call us out here?" Saten asked as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"I finally found something about the wire-suit case." Uiharu replied, her face adorned with a look of longing for her remaining dessert. Sadly she could not eat food and talk in the company of Ladies.

"The what?" Saten's reply was understandable. She hadn't been told a thing.

"A number of strange wire-suits have shown up on criminals around this District and they're all manufactured by the same company, based on what we've found." Uiharu replied. "Kuroko went to investigate the warehouse we traced them to and found it to be in use by an unidentified Level 4 electromaster and a number of others who we couldn't identify."

"So that's where you were." Misaka said, pointing her spoon at Kuroko.

"Guilty as charged." Kuroko admitted, holding her napkin in place as a Northerly breeze swept through the street. It was refreshingly warm after the recent cold-front's freezing winds.

"Why wire-suits?" Saten asked, absently clicking her long-handled spoon against the side of her empty glass.

"Most Espers in Academy City are electromasters," Uiharu began. "Most of the electromasters are Level 3 or lower, so wearing wire-suits can make the user immune to a large fraction of Espers in the city."

"That doesn't seem very revolutionary. I mean, I could wrap myself in tinfoil and get the same effect." Saten replied.

"Doing that would get you burned." Misaka interjected. "All the crumples in the tinfoil would be hotspots for electric heating. These wire suits are carefully built and insulated to keep electric heating to a minimum and skin contact with the wires non-existent." Saten nodded in her usual way, absorbing the knowledge and storing it away. "I have another thing to add," Misaka continued. "The other day I was attacked while out shopping by a woman and two men. The men were wearing wire-suits but they also had railguns." Surprise swept over the four.

"They were Level 5?" Kuroko nearly shouted, standing up as she did so. A number of pedestrians turned to look and Kuroko sheepishly apologized before returning to her seat.

"No you idiot," Misaka whispered forcefully. "They had weapons that were railguns. You know, the things I was named after?"

"Of course," Kuroko managed a laugh, staring off to the side as she did so.

"Anyway, the woman actually _did_ use the Railgun like I do-"

"She was a level 5?" Kuroko was once again up on her feet.

"Shut up! Idiot! Let me finish, she had metal rods inside her arm that likely made it easier for her to use her powers to fire a railgun. She couldn't have been more than a low Level 4." Misaka shook her head as Kuroko slowly dropped once more into her seat.

The others digested that information while Misaka briefly considered telling them about her Sisters. One quick look at Kuroko's eternally lecherous gaze was all Misaka needed to reinforce her decision to keep that bit of information a secret.

"That would explain the location I've tracked the suits and the firebombs to." Uiharu stated, pulling out her laptop and turning it around so everyone could see the screen. "Everything seems to originate at this laboratory complex owned by Shinki Synthetics, a prosthesis research and development company." Saten put her hands on the table.

"Why would that be important?" She asked.

"Because a prosthesis company would have access to the engineers needed to design a railgun as well as the doctors needed to surgically insert it into a person." Uiharu replied, opening up a number of dossiers on the numerous engineers, doctors, and other professionals employed by the company. "They could conceal a few surgeries and some prototyping without getting Anti Skill's attention."

"So we go in, blow up the lab, and go home." Misaka stated, "Doesn't sound too hard." Kuroko's hand found its way to her forehead while Saten and Uiharu made similar gestures.

"I don't think this company is the source of the problem. They aren't large enough to make enough suits under the radar while still turning a profit with the criminals they've been dealing with. Not to mention that surgical railgun. They don't employ anyone who has working knowledge of Esper powers meaning someone else designed the concept behind the railgun." Uiharu replied, shooting down Misaka's suggestion. "We need to figure out who is making Shinki produce these things."

"Can't you hack in and get the information?" Misaka replied exasperatedly, almost ready to try her own hand at the hacking if it meant getting closer to finding the culprit behind the crimes.

"I tried, but they might have the information on servers not connected to the internet." Uiharu replied, shaking her head. "Even if you could get the data using your power and if you could somehow store it on a device without missing anything and-"

"I get it, I get it!" Misaka interrupted, holding up her hands to fend off the barrage of wild assumptions. "How about we all head over, break in, get what we need, and then blow the place up."

"I don't think we need to blow it up." Kuroko mentioned. "It makes valuable prosthetic limbs for handicapped people you know." Misaka flinched.

"Fine, but we're blowing up the server and that's non-negotiable." Misaka insisted.

"Why do you want to blow something up so badly?" Saten asked, leaning in a bit as she did so. Misaka fidgeted under her gaze.

"I just want to make sure th-"

"She's probably so frustrated that the pace of our relationship is so slow. Even after yesterday's breakthrough we're still making slow progress. She even thought I had placed cameras in Faraday cages to take pictures of her!" Kuroko exclaimed. Uiharu's sudden guilty retreat put Misaka on high-alert. She quickly went through her memories of the morning but could not remember seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Yesterday's breakthrough?" Saten asked. If she had been curious before, she was enthralled after that little tid-bit.

"Indeed, we shared a number of secrets about-"

"I was the only one who shared anything, and you shouldn't talk about it!" Misaka's face was colored red by her mixed anger and embarrassment. Saten made a devilish grin and turned to her schoolmate.

"Do you think-"

"Nothing happened!" None of the nearby patrons or pedestrians paid the commotion any heed. Most likely as they recognized the Railgun for being the crazy, borderline psychotic she was occasionally made out to be.

"Fine, fine," Saten relented at last. "Let's go take a look at this building."

* * *

**xxBakaAkki:** I really like learning the sciences so I spend a lot of time trying to fit them in where they probably don't belong. Lucky for me this is one universe where science actually plays a small roll. Yay!

There you have it! Again, no idea when the next chapter will be up so I won't give you any false hope. I _can_ promise that it'll release on a Sunday at the usual time so you don't need to check back all the time, just on Sundays!


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